Digital Manifest: Keepers
by Crazyeight
Summary: With the arrival of two unknown Tamers in Shinjuku, new threats begin to materialize from the digital world. As mysterious forces follow in their trail a new power begins to awaken, and for each of the Tamers, it is only the beginning...
1. Homeward Bound

Digimon prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon, so please don't sue…

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Prologue: Homeward bound

"GET OFF OF HIM!"

The boy's shout was drowned out in the chaos that was erupting around him. Not that it mattered anyway. There was one who mirrored his emotions exactly and was more in a position to do something about the source of their anger. A massive orange dinosaur with black stripes and horns rushed past him towards a large insect creature that stood triumphantly over a pinned Lion like warrior, and slammed into it with the full force of his weight. The boy began to follow the giant saurian that had come to be his friend over the past few months, but an explosion erupted in front of him and knocked him to the ground. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to get up, and stopped as a shadow fell over him. Looking up the boy found himself face to face with another large insect creature, one that he recognized all to well. He didn't need a digivice to tell him that it was a Kuwagamon. The oversized beetles mandibles separated and it lunged.

"SCISSORE CL…" The Kuwagamon began to shout, but another cry interrupted him as thousands of needle-like spines filled the air.

"SCALE BLAZE!" A large dragon like reptile ran at the Kuwagamon, and with the aid of its powerful legs it leapt into the air. "DIAMOND CLAW!" It shouted and smashed its front claw into the insects face. There was a bright light and a roar of rage and pain.

"RYAN!" Shouted a voice from behind him. The boy looked behind him to see a boy with blonde hair about his age racing towards him. "You okay, dude?"

Ryan nodded. "I'm fine, Chris. You'd better digivolve Dracaramon to Ultimate though if we're gonna get out of this in one piece." The other boy nodded in understanding. He could already see the other two digimon approaching, and if memory served they were on a higher level than the monsters they were already fighting.

"What about you?" He asked. "We're going to need all the help we can get for this…"

"You KNOW that's not a good idea!" Ryan shouted causing Chris to step back. Ryan looked back at the scene unfolding before them, watching as his large orange partner unloaded a fireball in a Snimon's face at point-blank range. The creature exploded into thousands of tiny shards with barely a scream. Maybe there was still time; the others hadn't arrived just yet, all they had to do was get into the temple and they would stand a chance.

"RAAARGH!" The sound of Dracaramon screaming brought Ryan out of his thoughts and both his and Chris's heads snapped to attention. _Oh, no…_Ryan thought. The four-legged dragon had gotten too close to Kuwagamon's face and was now being given a bear hug, Scissor Claw style. Chris' hand fell to the digivice at his waste, preparing to digivolve his partner to Ultimate, but he was only a second behind…

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!" The image of a snarling Lion crashed into Kuwagomon, the impact sending both of the digimon flying and causing Dracaramon to de-digivolve back into his rookie form, a small reptile named Caramon. Chris shouted his name in fear and ran over to his fallen comrade. Picking him up gently Chris smiled with tears in his eyes as the little digimon said something. Ryan ran up to them and grabbed the kid by the arm.

"Talk later, we gotta get outta here!" As if to emphasize the point Kuwagamon fell to the ground with an earthshaking crash, its head just barely missing the two boys. A second later their rescuer leapt on top of the insect with a drawn sword, and without a moments hesitation, plunged it into Kuwagamon's chest. There was a bright light, and a second later the Kuwagamon went the way of Snimon. "Great job Leomon!" Chris said with a grin on his face.

"No time for thanks yet," snarled the great lion. "We have to get to…"

"DARKNESS SWORD!" A dark energy slash smashed into Leomon, driving him to the ground.

"LEOMON!" The two boys shouted. Ryan looked over his shoulder to see a BlackKnightmon charging towards them, a massive sword drawn and crackling with dark energy. Ryan turned to see his own partner, Terradramon lumbering towards them. Their eyes met, and the saurian nodded in understanding. _Sorry, Terradramon. I was really hoping that it wouldn't come to this. _"Get out of here," Ryan said to Chris darkly.

"Wha…why?" Chris asked.

"Just do it! Get Leomon and get into that Temple!"

"But what about…?"

"Do it NOW!" Ryan screamed at him. Chris's eyes widened and he reflexively gulped before he turned and ran towards the Lion digimon that was now just starting to get up. Ryan now turned back to Terradramon as he charged towards the BlackKnightmon. Slowly, calmly, Ryan pulled out his digivice. It was white with black trim, but it hadn't always been that way. Circumstances had seen to that little detail. Steeling himself for the coming storm, he raised the digivice to face his partner. A light began to emerge from it as Ryan felt the familiar feel of an electrical current cross his palm, and then it burst with the light of a dying star. There was no turning back now…

"TERRADRAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOOO…"

* * *

_Jeeze, _thought Chris as Leomon, dropped him down onto the temple ground. As soon as Leomon had seen what was happening, he just grabbed Chris and made a dash towards the structure without so much as a moment of hesitation. It didn't take much of a genius to figure out what Ryan had in mind, and the sad part was that he understood that he really didn't have much of a choice. The idea of two champions up against two ultimates really didn't appeal to him either. Chris just wished that there was another way. A few minutes later, Ryan came bounding up the temple steps panting. Chris turned to him. 

"You okay?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Ryan responded, breathing heavily.

"What about…?"

"He's buying us time," Ryan said harshly. A second later a voice that wasn't precisely a snarl, but still a far cry from anything human tore through the air.

"GRIM SLASH!" A scream of pain was heard, but the sounds of struggle continued unabated.

"I see…"

The two boys and digimon approached a pair of doors. Emblazoned on them were three circles merged partly together. If their source was correct these doors should be the way home. Chris's face fell when he thought of Centarumon. The guy had really meant well.

"So how are we going to go about this?" Asked Ryan. Chris looked at him. He really didn't have much of a clue…unless…

Chris pulled out his red trimmed digivice. "Centarumon," he paused. "Centarumon said that these things are something like keys, and that we haven't even begun to use them to their full potential."

Ryan nodded. Centarumon had also said that they seemed to function off of desire. Ryan grimaced as he held back the urge to vomit. He wasn't too sure if he liked what that said about him. Sure, it wasn't his fault, but he still had a hand…_Forget about it for now, Ryan. Focus on the here and now. _But in the back of his mind, he thought of his partner and friend. _Oh, Richoemon, _he thought miserably. _I'm so sorry. _

Chris walked up to the doors, closing his eyes and holding his digivice. Ryan soon followed suit. Leomon and Caramon watched uneasily. The battle outside was still raging, and didn't sound like it was going to end anytime soon, but things have a way of changing so fast. _And what about Terradramon? _Thought Caramon. _We're not just going to leave him here, are we?_ A light began to be emitted from the children's digivices, and it was soon accompanied by a much brighter light along with the sound of stone scraping on stone. Caramon's eyes widened. The doors were opening! They were doing it! They were really…

There was a powerful crash and stone began to tumble to the ground. The kids turned around in surprise, the light from their digivices winking out in a second. As the dust began to settle, Ryan caught a glimpse of orange on the ground and knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was Richoemon that lay on the ground before them. And there was something standing over him. The dust cleared, revealing the smiling black and blue figure of Nightmare Blitzmon. The ultimate smiled with the knowledge of having cornered his prey and raised his arm. As if to add insult to injury he heard the sound of stone doors grinding shut, without the power of their digivices they had no reason to stay open anymore. _NO! _Ryan shouted in his mind as he saw Leomon and Caramon position themselves in front of Nightmare Blitzmon. _NO! It can't end like this! Not when we're so close! IT CAN'T! _Suddenly a light erupted from Ryan's digivice and cascaded over the room, and soon another, even brighter light joined it, obscuring Nightmare Blitzmon's look of stunned surprise. The last thing Ryan remembered before he blacked out was the sound of stone shattering.

_The heart of a dreamer can shape worlds, bringing life to the places it goes; the gods of old can do naught but admire it…_

_So begins the story of the Digital Manifest…_

* * *

7 


	2. A Little Detour

Digimon Chapter:1

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or the characters associated with them, except for the made-up ones that are featured in this story (to my knowledge).

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter 1: A Little Detour…

The city had seen its fair-share of oddities over the past year. When its inhabitants say that monsters have walked among them, they meant it literally. This by no means meant that people had become numb to any strange occurrences, it just meant that they were accustomed to it enough that they were more like gawking tourists except during the occasions when things became violent, which in itself was almost as common. What was currently occurring in an isolated part of the city, close to a wooded area named after the city that it inhabited, was an event that was common, and immediately recognizable to anyone who had been around the area for more than a month.

A thick mist had risen up as the air almost seemed to tear itself apart. In comparison to other, similar occurrences, it was relatively noiseless and went, for the most part, unobserved. The mist glowed under the light of a full moon, which appeared as a silent spectator to the world's newest curiosity. The mist parted a bit, revealing five figures laying upon the ground. Their forms, obscured by the fog, did little to reveal their identities, but anyone who just happened to look in their direction would have no difficulty, if their size and shape were any indication, in believing that three of them were in no way human. As the fog drifted, one of the figures stirred and lifted itself onto its knees. A light breeze blew some of the mist away, revealing the tanned, and disheveled form of a human boy of around twelve years of age.

"Nnnngh…" Ryan groaned as he sat up, unsure as to what had just happened. He was almost positive that he was dead, but quickly changed his mind on the matter when pain gripped his back in a bear hug. SHOULD have been dead would actually be more on target, especially since after that light show he had heard the sound of stone being shattered in his vicinity which, in his experience, never heralded tidings of comfort and joy.

"Did anyone get the number of that mountain that landed on us?" Moaned a voice nearby. Sitting up, Ryan looked to see his friend Chris prop himself on one elbow and begin rubbing his forehead. Ryan mumbled something incoherently that could have been taken as a response and slowly got up. Once he had steadied himself he took a look around at his surroundings, which really wasn't much; mostly mist and what looked like asphalt. Sighing, he brushed his hair out of his eyes before he remembered…

"Richoemon!" He shouted frantically, his call quickly joined by the blonde haired boy, but for another by the name of Caramon. Turning around Ryan found the form of an orange dinosaur with black stripes and a zebra mane lying on the ground. "Richoemon," he whispered sadly. His partner, his friend, wasn't moving. _It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let him digivolve. _He quickly pushed down those thoughts. It wasn't his fault. Not really, but he still felt responsible for it anyway because he had let his guard down. His own digivice, the instrument that connected him with his parter, was a constant reminder of that…No! He didn't want to think about that!

"Rrrr…" The Digimon stirred. Ryan's face broke into the widest, and most relieved smile he ever wore in his life. "Richoemon!" He cried, tears forming in his eyes.

"Ryan?" The saurian asked weakly, opening his eyes. "What happened?"

"I don't know buddy," he said noticing that Chris had found his partner, Caramon, and now had the little lizard perched on his shoulder. God, they all looked like they had taken a visit to the gates of Hell and came back for a refund. He looked over at Chris to see if he could give a better answer, but he just shrugged. "Got me, dude. The last thing I remember was a pillar falling towards me followed by the world's brightest Christmas show."

Ryan sighed. "Well, at least we're out of danger for the time being."

Chris shook his head sadly. "Do you really believe that?" To be honest Ryan didn't, and Chris knew it. They were trapped in a cave-in inside an abandoned temple with about a two powerful digimon outside… Ryan froze.

_Outside…_

The air was cold and moist. A light breeze blew around them too. Not exactly the kind of thing you'd find inside a temple in the middle of a desert, and he highly doubted that the fog could be mistaken for dust that had been kicked up by falling debris.

_Somehow I don't think that we're in Kansas anymore, _Ryan thought. A huge figure obscured by the strange fog, suddenly loomed before them, but the two humans and their companions didn't shrink away. They were already long used to his size and beast like appearance, and they could sense a certain nobility within his scarred and proud form. They felt that they could trust their lives to him without hesitation, and this trust was reinforced with the knowledge that he had done so in the past without any thought for his own safety. Besides, what they had been made witness to over the past few months, a giant Lion-like warrior with a huge sword just didn't surprise them anymore.

"Hey Leomon," said Ryan with a tired grin on his face. "Glad to see that you're up and about (and still with us). Any theories as to what's going on?"

A low, contemplative growl eminated from the Lion Digimon's throat as he gazed about them. There was a sense of familiarity about their surroundings, and so felt confident in his answer, especially if the ground they were standing on was any indication. "I'd say that we're in a digital mist," Leomon said thoughtfully. "We must have bio-emerged." Leomon looked at his human companions and saw that they were utterly clueless. Even their two digimon looked as though they were having trouble deciphering what Leomon had just told them. Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to clarify the subject as both the human's digivices sounded an alarm. Ryan and Chris whipped them out with practiced ease and called up a holographic map that began scanning the surrounding area.

"Anything?" Leomon asked as his hand drifted towards his sword. The two humans shook their heads as Richoemon and Caramon looked around, testing the air with their noses.

"Nothing," Chris said. "Whatever this 'digital mist' stuff is its messing up the reader. I can't even get an accurate map."

Ryan's digivice beeped. "Hang on guys. Looks like I'm picking up some signals." He frowned. "Lots of them in fact." There looked to be close to a dozen signals closing in on their position.

"Can you tell who they are?" Chris asked.

"Just that some of them are different colors."

"Great, that's real informative."

Richoemon suddenly tensed and Caramon's tail tightened around Chris' arm. "OW! Caramon, stop it! You're cutting off the blood circu…"

"I sense digimon!" Caramon said almost hauntedly. Leomon snarled and drew his sword. Ryan looked at Richoemon grimly, and the tiger-striped dinosaur nodded and moved forward. Caramon, without anyone needing to give him a hint, jumped off his partners shoulder and joined the two digimon that had interposed themselves between the oncoming danger and the humans.

_I just hope that these guys don't give us too much trouble, _Ryan thought forlornly. Chris, whose digivice was now picking up the signals that were approaching them, was non-too thrilled about the odds. Especially since they were already worn out from their previous excursions.

"Um…guys?" He asked. "Maybe we should consider retreating…"

"Too late for that now," Growled Leomon as two figures could now be seen running through the mist. Leomon stepped forward and assumed a fighting stance. "THAT'S FAR ENOUGH!" He yelled. "COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL BE FORCED TO ATTACK!"

The two figures stopped and the mists parted. Other figures were coming but now the first two were visible. One was clearly human, practically a kid in fact, sporting a blue shirt with a pair of yellow-rimmed goggles sitting on his head. The other was a digimon that looked like a large red-dinosaur with gold eyes, bat-wing like ears, and what looked like a hazard symbol emblazoned on his chest. Their eyes were wide with shock as they looked at the sword bearing lion that stood before them. Leomon, for his part was no less shocked, and Ryan and Chris soon added their own looks of surprise as their friend choked out a word, or rather…a name.

"Takato?"

* * *

6 


	3. Tamers

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or the characters associated with them, except for the made-up ones that are featured in this story (to my knowledge).

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter 2: Tamers

They stood there. On one side, a lion-warrior with two humans and two digimon; and on the other a boy and a large red dinosaur that most definitely was a digimon; to top it off it looked as though the two knew each other, and from the look on the face of the kid Leomon had called 'Takato' (had to be him since there was no 'mon' attached to the end of the name), you could tell that he was, well, shocked. As though Leomon was the last person, or mon, that he ever expected to see showing up in his neighborhood. The as yet unnamed, crimson colored digimon wore a look that matched the human's almost exactly to the point where, had there not been a difference in species, you could almost say that they were the same person. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl as a crowd of humans and digimon began to join the goggle-wearing kid; one of them, a dark-haired boy wearing an orange vest was saying something, but his words, and his voice were quickly lost once his eyes lay on the giant feline standing before them. It was a moment where everything was in motion, but at the same time at rest as everyone took in the impact of this event. For the strange group of kids, it was from memories; for Ryan and Chris, it not only was the effect that their friend had on the newcomers, but also that they were the first humans that they had laid eyes on in months.

As things go, this moment didn't last long.

"Leomon…" The boy wearing the goggles said quietly, as though he was unable to find the strength or the words to express how he was feeling at the moment. Not that it mattered though, as the red lizard had no trouble expressing his feelings with an unexpected childish glee.

"YAAAAY! LEOMON'S BACK! LEOMON'S BACK!" And with that he dashed towards the lion, Ryan and Chris tensing reflexively but waited to see what would happen.

"Guilmon…" The boy (now clearly identified as Takato) made as if to stop his red friend, but then sighed and shrugged before following suit. Leomon dropped down on one knee and greeted the two with a smile and placed two very large hands on their shoulders. The crowd of children and digimon began to gather around him with looks of happiness and relief on their faces. Ryan relaxed a little; okay, he relaxed a lot once it became clear that there wasn't going to be a fight and, as an added bonus, they knew their friend and guide. Good deal. Ryan let go of a breath that he didn't know that he was holding and took a look at his friend Chris, who simply smirked and shrugged.

"At least they're not trying to kill us, right?"

Ryan gave a small grin and looked back to the heart-warming scene. It would be a matter of time before this little reunion was broken up, but neither he nor Chris were willing to be the ones to ones to that, and the same went for their digimon. So for now, they just stood there, watching while Leomon was being pelted with questions and comments about him (very little of which they caught as the voices tended to overlap). This didn't mean that their presence went unnoticed. The boy in the orange vest looked over in their direction with curiosity, but said nothing yet while a ways off, a large yellow fox had been watching them with a cool look before motioning to a girl with red hair tied in a pony tail. This last one looked at the two with her eyes narrowed in suspicion before looking back at the fox.

Probably understandable given that Ryan, Chris, and their two digimon were strangers and looked like they had been dragged through a field. Ryan supposed that if he saw a couple dirty people that he didn't know with some weirdo reptiles at their side, in the company of someone that he knew, he'd probably be wondering just what the heck they were doing there too.

"Ryan?" Asked Richoemon tugging at his sleeve.

"Hmmm?"

"The girlmon keeps looking at us as though we were Flymon. I don't like it."

_Girlmon? _Ryan thought as he looked over the kid's digimon. _Who? The fox? I can't really tell digimon gender; heck, for that matter I don't know if digimon even have genders. I guess that I've always just assumed that…_Ryan's train of thought was derailed as the redhead spoke up.

"So, Leomon. Who're your friends?"

Leomon looked back. "They are friends of mine, Rika. They had been trapped in the digital world and I had been acting as their guide. Introductions will have to wait until we're in a more private place however. Perhaps Guilmon's den…?"

"Say no more, Leomon," the boy named Takato said. "C'mon troops! It's back to the hideout!" The others looked at the boy for a moment as he and his red digimon started to jog off before quickly following suit. Leomon stood up and motioned for Chris, Richoemon, Caramon, and Ryan to follow along. The two boys had to admit some confusion; they had no idea as to where they were, and the fact that Leomon actually knew other humans besides them brought even more questions to mind. _Leomon never did say that he knew other people, _Chris thought. _But then, we never did ask. Too much time spent being on the run to play twenty questions. _He sighed. _Oh well, may as well enjoy this while we still can. It's not often that we get to have a breather, even if it doesn't last long. _As the group departed the fog Ryan and Chris froze, their eyes going wide. Electric lights, cars, a park bench! They were back in the real world!

_We're home, _thought Chris feeling dazed. _We're really, finally, home. _

Richoemon and Caramon kept on going for a few seconds before realizing that their partners were no longer moving. "Uh, Chris?" Asked Caramon. Ryan and Chris snapped themselves out of their stupor.

"Sorry Car, it's just that it's been a while, a VERY long while since we've been home. It's kind of a lot to take in all at once."

Caramon grinned and climbed up onto Chris's shoulder, wrapping his reptilian tail around his friends arm. "C'mon Chris, let's keep moving. Tomorrow we can sightsee all you want, but right now we're falling behind. I suggest that we move our freights, so mush!"

Chris grimaced while Ryan and Richoemon grinned. "Fine. Next time though I get to sit on your shoulder…"

"HEY! Are you guys coming or do you need to be carried?"

"Terriermon…" warned the boy in the orange vest.

"What? Henry… they're moving slower than a Tortuousmon…"

"We're coming!" Called out Ryan and they got moving again. "You know, we've only been here for about ten minutes or so and already that rabbit reminds me of someone we knew at school…"

"Who? Ashley? I don't know, Ryan. Ashley was a twit but somehow I've got the feeling that she's not in the same league as that weird little rabbit…"

"I said 'reminded me', Chris. I never said that they were twins."

_Hmmm… now that would be one weird family relationship if that were the case,_ thought Chris. Suddenly the hair on the back of his neck began to stand up and both he and Ryan looked over their shoulder and found themselves staring into the face of the fox digimon that just seemed to materialize out of thin air. Ryan jumped a bit but was able to hide it successfully, or so he thought.

_How'd it do that? _

"Better move along boys," it said in a decidedly feminine voice that was cool, but firm as she glided past them. She gave them both a look that would brook no argument from either of them, and they simply nodded. Once the walk had resumed, Chris spoke.

"I wanna learn how to do that."

"Do what?" Asked Ryan.

"Make you jump like that."

"Shut up. I did not jump."

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night Ryan," chided Caramon.

"Oh, you're a noisy one too."

Chris's thoughts drifted away from that little side note and began to wonder just how much time had passed since their little jaunt in the digital world. Had it been over a month? Definitely. After a certain point though, he began to get fuzzy on the subject. Time just seemed to lose meaning once their trouble had started. As the group began to enter a wooded area Chris took a look back towards the fog that they had emerged from, seeing that it had now dissipated enough to reveal some signs. Upon seeing the characters on them, Chris really began to wonder just where it was that they had landed. _We're really not in Kansas anymore Toto, _he thought. _In fact, I'd say we're west of it. Very west. That's just our luck; getting deposited on the other side of the world like this. Oh well, at least our odds of getting home have increased exponentially._

When the children and digimon made it to what Leomon had identified as "Guilmon's Den" (a sorry looking thing in Ryan's and Chris's eyes, but they weren't going to judge) some introductions went around. Takato's and Guilmon's identities were already known, likewise for Rika and the goofy looking rabbit that sat on the dark-haired boy's head (this one needed to be reintroduced since the newcomers had forgotten it during the journey) so the introduction went as follows: the dark-haired boy who seemed to tolerate the Terriermon's desire to sit on his head was named Henry and were apparently partners (an unlikely and bizarre one Ryan thought but said nothing on the matter). The fox-like digimon that had spooked Ryan earlier was known as Renamon, and she was apparently partnered with the cool-eyed red-haired girl. The partner to the immediately recognizable Guardromon was a tall visor-wearing boy sporting a black t-shirt with a crucifix emblazoned on it went by the name of Kazu, and next to him was Kenta, another dark-haired boy, noticeably smaller and paler than Henry, and wearing glasses. A little pink fairy-like creature fluttered around him. Ryan pulled out his digivice and called up the analyzer program.

MARINE ANGEMON

Stage: Mega

Type: Vaccine

Attack: Kahuna waves

"Heh, a mega for a partner, huh? That's pretty cool."

"Yeah," said Kenta rubbing the back of his head coyly. "It certainly has its perks."

"How come those perks never seem to make a difference on the battlefield?" Said Kazu teasingly.

"Hey!"

"Kazu, you shouldn't make fun of Marine Angemon," scolded Takato. "He handles things just fine on his end of things. I mean, he did drive away D-Reaper once by blowing a heart at it…"

"Who wouldn't run from a heart? I mean, look at Rika. She's got one on her shirt and she's the scariest thing between two worlds…"

"I'd stop talking if I were you," said Rika, glaring icily at the visor-wearing boy.

While this conversation went back and forth (with Chris and Ryan already feeling lost at the start of it) the boy named Henry looked curiously at Ryan's digivice. "Hey, can I see your digivice?"

Ryan looked at Henry for a second. "Sure," he said as he handed it to him. Henry looked it over. It was a different model from the ones that Henry and the others carried, but there were some similarities in the shape, though it resembled more of a "T", and was devoid of any buttons and lacked the slot in the side for card reading. The screen, which had been lit when Ryan held it, was now dark and lifeless. Terriermon, still perched on Henry's head, leaned in to get a better look.

"Hey, the color scheme is just like Ken's dark-digivice from the TV show." This caused everyone to look up and crowd around. Ryan felt a little nervous. He did know about the TV show (the first season had premiered in America before he and Chris 'disappeared' into the digital world), but he hadn't gotten into it enough to have a clue as to what they were talking about. And as for this 'dark digivice' talk… Ryan almost gasped when he took a look. He could've kicked himself for not noticing earlier. The digivice had changed color again, this time from white to a sooty color with black trim. Ryan didn't like the significance that this little development emplied.

"How come your digivice is all black and gray?" Asked Takato.

Ryan's face fell. "Well, there's a story behind that…"

"Great. I kinda figured on that," said the girl named Rika. "As fascinating as it might be, I'm not going to stay out all night to hear it. I'm sure that my grandmother's pitching a fit right now, and besides, it'd be best if we all heard it tomorrow so that Jeri can get reacquainted with Leomon."

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Kazu. "It can be like a surprise! Oh, man; Jeri's going to be so happy when she sees Leomon again!"

"Yeah!" Said Kenta, not wanting to be left out.

The goggle-wearing boy named Takato smiled at the antics of his two friends. "Right. Hey Henry, why don't we take Chris and Ryan down to your place? I'll bet your dad would want to check out their digivices."

"I don't know, it's awfully late, Takato."

"Okay, yeah, you do have a point there. Ummm… I take it you guys don't have a place to stay?"

Ryan and Chris looked up, surprise clearly written on their faces. Having been living in the rough for so long now the thought had slipped both their minds. Ryan didn't want to impose on anyone but still…

_It would be nice not to have to sleep out in the open and on uncomfortable rocks and twigs for once, _he thought.

"Well, we can't just leave you guys to sleep outdoors…"

"No, really, you don't have to…" Ryan began.

"Hey Rika! Can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?"

"Why?"

"Well," Takato began. "I was thinking that since these guys need a place to stay for the night we could call around and ask permission from our parents…"

"Oh for goodness sake!" The girl all but raged. "I don't have time for…" Rika closed her eyes and took a breath in an attempt to reign in her temper. After almost a minute she spoke again. "Look, my place is larger and isn't as crowded, and I'm sure that my grandmother won't mind them staying. They can spend the night there until we can figure out something more permanent."

"Rika, are you sure?" Asked Takato worriedly.

"No, but I'm not willing to stand here and debate the issue," the girl snapped.

There followed a brief, tense silence among the children and digimon. Ryan made an attempt to ease the situation.

"Um…we can camp out here for the night," Ignoring the look from Chris that asked, _have you lost your mind?_ "Really, we don't have… a…problem…with…it…" Ryan's words died off as the violet-eyed girl gave him a glare that would have given a Monochromon pause. _I think that I'll shut up now, _Ryan thought, suddenly overcome with the feeling that discretion was the better part of valor.

Chris looked at his friend, and then at the girl, awed beyond belief. _Sheesh. He gets stuck in a strange world, attacked by excessively large and powerful monsters, and what is it that finally makes him blink in the face of danger? One girl with an attitude problem. If she were with us when we were in the digital world we wouldn't have needed partners. _Looking at his reptilian friend Chris quickly amended, _Not that I'm complaining of course. _

"Now," Rika began. "If that's settled I would like to get home. Renamon?" The Kitsune vanished from sight as the girl approached the exit of Guilmon's den. She paused and looked over her shoulder. "Well? Are you Goggleheads coming?"

The two boys and their digimon scrambled to their feet and followed her out, earning some sympathetic looks as they left.

"Anyway, we'll see you guys back here tomorrow," Henry called out to them. "Is 10 or 11:00 alright?"

"Whatever," Rika called back as she set off.

"Man, that was weird," said Takato, looking perplexed.

"I'll say," said Kazu. "Dude, if looks could kill, those two would have been charred and broiled."

"Did she seem angrier than usual to you?" Henry asked Takato.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up?"

"Ah, it's Rika!" Said Kazu as though he were stating one of life's greatest truths. "She's crazier then…" The boy paused, actually looking flustered. "Crazier then…Oh man! Guardromon! Help me out here! For once I can't think of anything that she's crazier then!"

"That's a first!" Kenta laughed.

"Never mind. She's definitely crazier than Mr. I'm-a-tamer-to-a-pink-powder-puff, here."

"Takato?" Asked Guilmon innocently. "What's a powder puff? And can I eat it?"

Takato, Henry, and Terriermon could do little else but look strangely at their friends.

* * *

Leomon had left Guilmon's den once the rest of the Tamers had bid each other their farewells. Breathing in the night's fresh air (as fresh as it can be in a city) and set off in the direction of a home that he had known for a short time before his "death". He hurtled through the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, taking care (as much as he can considering his size) to not disturb anyone. Finally he stopped on the sidewalk directly across from the home of his former Tamer.

"Jeri," he whispered once before leaping back into the night. Tomorrow, he would see her. Tomorrow.

Jeri Katou's rested comfortably in her bed, oblivious to the presence that mere moments ago, had been outside her home. Over on her bedrooms desk, where a picture of her dearly departed mother stood, lay a yellow trimmed D-Arc. The digivice, which had been dormant since the incident with D-Reaper now sprang back to life, the screen winking on and making a few beeping noises before shutting itself back off. The young girl shifted in her bed, but did not wake. With the light of the moon now shining through her window, one could perceive a small smile on her face.

* * *

Rika's grandmother was waiting for them at the door, and although she was surprised that her granddaughter had brought home some guests, she accepted Rika's explanation without complaint and agreed to allow them to stay the night (with both Ryan and Chris looking surprised that she took to their having digimon so calmly). As Seiko went to get some blankets for the two boys and their digimon Rika followed her out of the room, and asked her when her mother would be getting home.

"I don't expect her to be back until late tonight. If you're worried about her reaction to our guests you needn't worry. I will be up to explain things when she gets here."

"Mmmm…"

Seiko looked at the girl with sad eyes. "You don't like him do you?"

Rika crossed her arms and turned away. "I don't approve of him. I don't like how he thinks he can just walk in here and sweep us all off our feet."

"Rika, your mother is only doing what she thinks is best. Since the two of you had grown closer she feels that you could use a father figure in your life again. And besides, she has taken a shine to the man."

"I know…" Rika said. "It's just that the whole thing feels awkward, and I don't know how to act around him. I'm just not used to the idea of mom having a steady boyfriend, I guess."

"I don't expect you to get used to the idea right away, Rika. Just try to be understanding and keep an open mind."

Rika nodded with a look of resignation on her face. "I'll try Grandma."

"Good, now why don't we bring these blankets out to our guests? I imagine that they must be tired from their journey."

* * *

Ryan sat with his back against the wall, drowsiness already stealing over his senses. Beside him lay Richoemon, practically dead to the world. No surprise there seeing as how he had a hard day of digivolving and getting womped on by a pair of ultimates at the same time. Chris and Caramon had gone out like a light the instant they made contact with the ground. It was kind of funny how things worked out. Before their trip to the digital world, they took things like having a bed for granted; now here they were, passing out on rugs and anything that was remotely soft, or if failing that at least smooth. And the room temperature…_I gotta admit. I never knew just how much I missed technology. _

"Wow Grandma, I didn't know that you were psychic."

Ryan opened his eyes and began to stand up, only to be stopped by the gentle hands of the elderly woman in front of him. "It's alright. I had intended for you and your friends to sleep in the guest room but I suppose that here is as just as good a place as any. You look tired."

Ryan settled back down and smiled softly, muttering some thanks.

"You're welcome, dear," Seiko got up and after stopping to cover the others with blankets, she left the room. Ryan looked up and saw Rika standing in the doorway, her face expressionless.

"Um… Rika?" Her face turned to him. "Thanks." Ryan said. Rika's face almost seemed to soften, and then she turned and wordlessly left the room. Ryan leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Feeling the tension leave his body, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in months, he felt safe.

* * *

In the digital world...

The temple lay in ruins. Where once there stood mighty pillars and figures of ancient digimon carved into the living rock now lay barely recognizable rubble. The shattered stone and scorched earth was a testament to the events that had transpired here, or as Ryan or Chris would have put it, _things got biblical. _The dark armored knight digimon known as Black Knghtmon stood before the temple remains, scowling beneath his helmet. Though he wouldn't have understood the reference, he certainly would have understood the meaning. He and his party had pursued their quarry to this place, believing their foes to be weakened from their earlier battles and subsequent flight to even bother resisting. He had expected the humans and their partners at the very least to try pleading with them to be allowed to live. The Leomon fought, but that was to be expected. His kind always fought and never bent knee to anyone. The humans surprised him though; instead of begging for mercy or accepting their fate they had fought back with the mad desperation of cornered animals. And he most certainly hadn't expected the one with the dark-colored device to do what he had done. Black Knightmon still shuddered at the memory. He had been informed that particular human had been _taken care of_ and wouldn't offer any resistance. But then, as Black Knightmon could tell you from experience, desperation makes humans, and digimon, do things that they otherwise wouldn't have done.

But that wasn't what bothered him. What did was that the humans had escaped! He was sure of it. His master had taught him many things during the time of his service, and the sense that he had gotten right before the temple collapsed was more than enough evidence to that they hadn't been simply crushed underneath the weight of all that stone, no matter how much he wished it were so.

His master would not be pleased.

_If only life were so much easier, _Black Knightmon thought darkly.

* * *

Back in the real world...

Rika sighed as she undid her hair from its usual spiky ponytail, and after changing walked over to where her futon lay. This just hadn't been her day. She had been looking forward to spending some time with her mother this week, but Rumiko's planned date with her 'boyfriend' had ruined that. Between yesterday's argument with her mother (and subsequent apology later on) and now today with the arrival of those new tamers (_are they tamers? _She wondered thinking on how different their digivices were) she wasn't feeling up to specks right now. She didn't think that she wanted to get caught up in another danger-filled adventure right now but she had an idea that she and the others would anyway, like it or not.

Rika paused, as she was about to climb under the blankets. "What is it Renamon?" The yellow-furred kitsune phased into existence behind her.

"I wanted to see if you were alright. You didn't seem to be particularly happy earlier."

Rika sighed again. "Of course I'm alright. I'm just- how does Jeri say it? - Peachy!"

Renamon frowned. "I know you well enough to know when you're lying Rika. It doesn't help you if you bottle up your emotions like this."

"Rrrrgh! Fine! Things feel like they're going over a waterfall! Are you happy?" Rika felt a twinge of guilt at the way she was talking to Renamon, her best friend and partner, but if Renamon was hurt by her words she gave no sign. Instead she placed a paw on her tamer's shoulder.

"Rika…"

"I know what you're going to say Renamon," _Grandma gave me the same speech not too long ago. _"But right now I don't want to talk about it."

"As you wish, Rika. Now, what about those new Tamers?"

Rika looked at her partner. "What about them? It's pointless to be coming up with any theories about them, like Gogglehead and Braniac are probably doing right now, since we'll be talking to them right tomorrow."

"I know, but I would like to hear your thoughts on them anyway."

"Renamon, I don't know why we're even talking about this. Like I said, we'll be talking to them tomorrow, so we'll get an explanation then."

"Rika…"

"Goodnight, Renamon!" Rika said, more harshly than she had intended. Renamon sighed. It was clear that Rika was done talking now. Once her stubborn streak drew a line in the sand it was rare that she crossed it.

"Goodnight, Rika," The Vulpine said, and she exited the room. Perhaps she should have a talk with Seiko.

_I'm sorry Renamon, _Rika thought sadly.

* * *

Seiko checked up on the children to see how they were doing, and found that they were settling in just fine (the one boy, Ryan she thinks his name was, had finally dropped off to sleep, apparently content using the wall as his mattress). Turning off the light she left the room and closed the door softly. Turning she saw the tall Kitsune standing next to her.

"How is she?" Seiko asked.

"Hard to say," the vulpine answered. "And they?"

"Sleeping. Care for some tea?"

"Thank you." The two walked out to the kitchen and Seiko poured some tea into a kettle, setting it on the stove to boil.

"Some interesting new friends you've made tonight," Seiko said.

"Yes. They don't seem to have come from around here though, and judging from their appearance and scents, they may have been in a fight before they arrived."

"I wonder what could be happening there that would drag those boys to that place."

"As the saying goes, '_all things come to those who wait_.' We need only be patient. One way or another, I feel that we will get answers."

"Do you believe that there will be danger involved?"

"The possibility is there…"

Seiko sighed. She had hoped that after the Parasimon invasion that things would calm down. Apparently she had been living on false hopes. "I don't think that I need to ask you to watch over my granddaughter should anything 'unexpected', or perhaps in your case, 'expected', develop from this…"

"Always Ms. Hata."

"Thank you. And please, call me Seiko."

The teakettle began to whistle.

* * *

A couple of hours later...

Richoemon abruptly awoke from his slumber when he heard the slam of a car door. Having no experience with that sound he immediately assumed that it had to be a digimon and stood up in a battle position, debating whether he should wake Ryan and the others, and waiting for the intruder to crash through the door and roar and start spitting fire, or for the fox to jump it and show it the door (if either of these happened Richoemon wouldn't need to worry about waking up his partner. The noise alone would serve much better than any alarm clock would). However, none of these things happened. There was instead, the sound of a door opening and closing, and the soft padding of feet as Seiko entered the room. Seeing that the little dinosaur was awake she gave him a reassuring smile and waited as the lady of the house known as Rumiko entered.

"Oh, Mom! You're still up! Is Rika in bed?"

"Yes dear. How was your date?"

"Oh, it was fantastic! Tom and I went to see that new movie that came out last week. You remember, the one about…" She paused as she suddenly noticed that there was a tiger-like dinosaur in her home. Then her eyes settled on the three figures that lay nearby the creature. "Mom…? What's going on here?"

"I'll explain in the kitchen, Rumiko. Now we must really let them sleep." With a worried look from the younger of the two, the women left the room and resumed their discussion in soft voices; Seiko's penetrating the dark every now and then. Richoemon didn't pay any attention (little of it he would have understood, truth be told. Humans could be so confusing). His thoughts were instead focused on the glowing orb that he saw in the sky when the woman entered. He had never seen anything like it before. Soon he fell asleep with a silver ball glowing in his minds eye, comforting him with its soft light.

* * *

Far above the city, a fog gathered and the still silence of the night was once again shattered with the emergence of a new arrival from that strange and mysterious digital world. But as the fog dissipated nothing could be seen except the light cast by the city below, and the moon above. For the government agency known as Hypnos, charged with the duty of detecting and preventing the emergence of data from the digital world, this event registered as barely more than a minor energy spike in the net. And with the children known as Tamers, their digivices didn't react act all. Even Guilmon slept soundly. The worlds earlier arrivals though, their digivices glowed briefly, but neither their owners nor their digimon noticed, such was their exhaustion.

The rest of the evening passed without incident.

* * *

23 


	4. Meetings Made, Stories Exchanged, Battle

Disclaimer: Usual drill…I don't own Digimon, you don't sue…

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter: 3 Meetings made, Stories exchanged, Battles joined

Takato Matsuki greeted the new day with a smile that was almost like another sun. He was full of energy and was looking forward to talking to those new Tamers and, more so, to seeing the look on Jeri's face when she saw the 'surprise' that they had in store for her. _This is going to be great; _he had told Henry last night right before they parted ways. _Jeri's going to be so happy when she sees Leomon again. _Henry had smiled at his friend's eagerness, and Terriermon had teased the poor kid about it, making comments that had Takato blushing furiously and causing almost no end of amusement for his two friends. Once they had sobered up they moved on to some more important matters, such as the new Tamers that had dropped in quite unexpectedly. The two kids didn't look like they had covered themselves with much glory, looking like some freaky cross between grizzled war veterans and frightened rabbits. This lead to some very obvious questions being asked; just who exactly were they? Henry had doubted that they were Tamers, mostly because of the difference in their digivice design. Did that mean that they were like Digidestined? And more importantly, what were they doing in the digital world? What could be going on there and did it pose a danger to the real world? And back to the digivices, Takato was curious about them, especially the dark colored one. The kid who owned it hadn't seemed very happy when that subject came up though.

_I wonder what could've happened? _Takato wondered. _Did he end up like Ken from the show? Did he go to that weird Dark Ocean dimension? There are times where I wish that the show explored that part of the digital world more since we know so little about it. _As Takato filled up a bag with his parents special "Guilmon Bread" for his partner's morning meal, he wondered if they should let Yamaki know about this little development. He felt that it would be a good idea since it would mean that the new kids would have a more permanent place to stay instead of crashing at a Tamers' place until Hypnos could arrange for them to be sent home, but he preferred to hear their story first; the whole story and not just what Yamaki chose to tell them. Not that Takato thought that the shade-wearing agent would hold anything back, he did trust the adult after all. It was the memory of a certain incident that happened after the D-Reaper invasion that gave him pause. In a last-ditch effort to defeat a merciless computer program that threatened them all, Hypnos and a group called the "Monster Makers", without their knowledge, created a program that not only reverted D-Reaper to its most basic form (thus negating its threat) but also sent their partners back to the digital world. Of course, the Tamers had eventually gotten their partners back, and while some of them like Takato had been quick to forgive and forget, there was no doubt that a small schism lay between the Tamers and Hypnos. Rika had voiced her own distrust during the Parasimon invasion, but then, that was Rika.

Takato left his parents bakery at around quarter after eight, stepping out into the summer sun and ran off into the direction of Jeri Katou's house. He supposed that he could have called her, but he wanted to talk to Jeri in person. More importantly, he wanted to see her. He cared for her, probably more than he could put into words, but then, he didn't need to. Actions do speak louder than words after all, and when it came to Takato, his actions had a way of speaking so loud that buildings shattered like glass. Literally.

Yet, despite all the challenges he had faced; despite all the enemies that he had fought, Takato had yet to tell Jeri how he felt about her. Maybe he didn't need to, but a little vocal confirmation would do wonders for his nerves. The irony to it all was that he had confessed his feelings once, except that it was to a D-Reaper clone of Jeri.

Sometimes he thought that the whole universe revolved around making fun of him.

As he ran down the streets, his eyes spied a familiar figure with dark hair, an orange vest, and a ridiculous rabbit perched on a shoulder. "HEY, HENRY! TERRIERMON!" He called out. The boy looked up at the sound of Takato's voice as the goggle-headed child ran up to him.

"Hey Takatomon," said the ever-sarcastic Terriermon. "What's your hurry? Is Rika chasing you? I tell ya, you really need to stop making comments about her shirt." At this Takato blushed. He had completely forgotten about that awkward moment down in the tunnels. Leave it to a dog-bunny with a machine gun mouth to bring something like that up again.

Henry fixed his digital friend with a frown. "Just ignore him. He's been like this ever since I rescued him from the clutches of 'Princess Susie'."

"HEY!"

Takato laughed at Terriermon's indignant cry. "I can't believe that she still does the whole _Princess Pretty Pants _treatment to him. Man, you'd think that when she got Lopmon for her partner that she'd have eased up on Terriermon."

"Yeah," said Henry smirking. "Well, you gotta admit, Terriermon is just that desirable. If it wasn't for me he'd have to beat off every five-year old in Shinjuku with a stick."

"What can I say?" Said Terriermon puffing out his chest proudly. "I'm a real ladies mon…HEY!"

The two friends shared a laugh at Terriermon's expense. It wasn't often that the tables got turned around on the little smart-mouth rabbit.

"So, what's going on, Henry?" Asked Takato. Henry shrugged.

"I was just walking down to the park; decided I'd stop by your place first and see if you were up. Guess that I wasn't needed to drag you out of bed."

"Are you implying that I would've overslept and shown up late?"

Henry's grin said it all. _Do I even need to answer that?_

Takato tried to fix Henry with a serious gaze, but failed. "All right! All right! It was smart of you to check up on me to make sure. Man, Rika's right when she calls you 'Braniac'."

"Someone has to be the smart one around here. Anyway, where are you going? This isn't exactly the direction to the park…"

Takato put his hand behind a head and laughed nervously. "Well, I wanted to see Jeri, and tell her that we're having a Tamers meeting down at Guilmon's place and that – uh – she should be there today." Henry nodded his head in understanding, although in his mind he wondered why Takato didn't just call Jeri and tell her. Oh, well. It wasn't his business anyways. And besides, who knew why Takato did half the things he did? Rika was right. He could be such a Gogglehead at times.

"Hey Henry," said Takato. "You mind walking with me?"

"Sure," Henry said and together they resumed walking.

"So, have you come up with any more theories about those new Tamers?"

"Mmmm… no not really, though I did tell my dad about it last night. He's going to talk to Yamaki today and see what they can set up."

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about their digivices."

_Okay…_ "Yeah. They do seem rather interesting. I'm curious as to how they use them. Last night, that one kid… what's his name…"

"I think he said his name was Ryan…"

"…Ryan used that Digimon Analyzer the same as we do, except his digivice doesn't have anything that shows how he could have activated it. I wonder if they activate them by just thinking about it…"

"Wow! Now that would be interesting! It would certainly make things easier, that's for sure."

"I don't know about that, Takato. It might actually make things harder. Remember what was up with Ryan's digivice?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It might mean that their bond with their digimon is closer, and that might make it harder for them to digivolve properly. Maybe Ryan made a mistake before he got here, and his digivice's appearance is like a physical manifestation of that mistake."

Takato looked at the ground thoughtfully. "I guess… I never thought about it that way…"

"TAKATO! HENRY!"

The two Tamers and Terriermon jumped at the loud voice that called their names. Looking ahead, they saw a young brunette girl in a green dress racing up to them with a look of supreme happiness on her face. Takato blushed lightly.

_Well, at least she saved me half the trip, _thought Takato as the girl named Jeri Katou stopped in front of them.

"What're you guys up to?" Asked Jeri with an excited giggle in her voice. Terriermon looked at Takato and smirked.

"Hey, Takatomon? You wanna field this one?" Takato jumped a bit but did so, stumbling over his words a bit as he spoke.

"Uh…Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah, um, well, you see Jeri, we're having a Tamers meeting at Guilmon's place, and we'd like for you to come with us. We – uh – have a surprise for you."

_Real smooth, Takato, _Terriermon's thoughts almost mirroring the brown-haired boy's exactly.

"Sure, Takato," Jeri said happily. She would have gone anyway, if not because she was curious about this "surprise" that the others had for her (she loved surprises) then just for the opportunity to be with her friends; to be with Takato.

Jeri smiled a knowing smile at the boy, who returned it shyly. Terriermon struggled to hold in his laughter.

* * *

Rika Nonaka exited her room and headed towards the bathroom. She had woken up later than usual in an attempt to dodge her mother; despite her promise to her grandmother to be more accepting and open-minded about her mother's choices, Rika had no desire to face her right now. As she entered the room where their visitors slept, her eyes fell on the two forms on…

She stopped. _Two?_

"Renamon!" She called, and no sooner had the name left her mouth that the vulpine digimon appeared beside her.

"Yes, Rika?"

"One of the Tamers and that stripy, orange dino are missing. Did you see where they went by any chance?"

Renamon's eyes narrowed. "No Rika, I did not," she replied coolly. She was perplexed. While Renamon hadn't been on the grounds of her partner's home, she was close enough where she SHOULD have noticed something. _Curious…_

Rika sighed in frustration and walked over to the sleeping figure of the blonde haired boy named Chris and nudged him roughly with her foot. "Wake up!" She demanded harshly.

"Zzzz… Snort! Huh? What…?" The boy awoke with a start, waking up the small lizard that was his partner in the process. The two blinked profusely at the cause of their interrupted sleep.

"Nnnng… Chris, what's going on? We under attack again?" Complained Caramon.

Rika didn't wait for a response. "Your friends are missing," she said, indicating a folded up blanket where the duo had slept during the night. Renamon stood in front of it, looking intently at something that lay on top of it. "Any clue where they might have gone?"

Chris stared at the girl, trying to come up with an answer and diffuse what looked like an increasingly dangerous situation at the same time. Fortunately, fate had decreed that Ryan should show some for site today.

"Rika," said Renamon, handing her a piece of paper with a fairly legible message was written on it.

_Chris,_

_Went out to with Richoemon to walk my brain. We'll see you and the others at the concrete thing in the park. Later._

_-Ryan_

" '_Walk my brain_?'" Rika asked as she handed the note to Chris, his eyes visibly relaxing when he realized that death, either from a rogue digimon or the girl, was not eminent.

"Yeah, he does that when he needs to do some serious thinking. No biggy," Chris said.

"Hmmph. Does he even remember how to get to the park?"

Chris' right eye twitched and he forced a grin. "Uh… probably not. We are new arrivals and everything. But then, I never would've credited Ryan with having an abundance in brains." He turned to Caramon and snickered. "Remember when he went off on his own and had that run in with Sukamon and Chuumon?"

The lizard digimon laughed. "Yeah, that was hilarious!"

_Something tells me that I don't even want to know, _Rika thought.

* * *

_Probably could've used a shower, _Ryan thought. Then his stomach growled grumpily at him. _Probably could've used something to eat before I left too. _During their stay in the digital world, they had found out about the whole _food trick_ as Ryan had called it; by which he meant that they had found that as long as they were in the digital world they didn't need to eat, with Chris accidentally discovering it while they were marching through a desert during their first few weeks in that place. The heat had been messing with them badly that day, and it did some strange things to their minds, which, ironically, yielded only positive results.

Sometimes he thought that the world enjoyed playing with his head like that.

The thing was, he had gotten so used to how things operated back in the digital world that he had all but forgotten that he needed things like food and water just to stay going, and if he didn't have other things on his mind he would've wondered when the last time he had emptied his bladder had been. Fortunately, for the benefit of everyone's sanity, his thoughts were currently preoccupied with the up and coming meeting with the other kids. On one hand it would be nice to discuss this with people who had already been around the block before, but there was the matter of his digivice. The way that the others had talked he felt as though they were already lumping him with the digimon that had been chasing him and his troupe for the past few weeks. Maybe they weren't too far from the truth, since he had already experienced some very negative results concerning the dark-colored gadget as his friend and partner could attest to; that and its most recent color change didn't bode very well either.

It was something that Ryan knew that he wasn't going to feel comfortable talking about, even though he knew that he should. Sighing, Ryan ran a hand through his hair and thought of the first thing that described his emotions exactly. _Why can't we ever get the easy ones? _In time, this thought would become almost a tradition.

"Hey Ryan?" Asked Richoemon. "What're you thinking about?"

Ryan looked at his partner. "Who says that I'm thinking about anything?"

The tiger-striped dinosaur gave his friend a look of annoyance. "C'mon Ryan, we've been friends and partners for how long now? The only time you go off somewhere without Chris and the others is when you're doing some thinking. Now spill!"

Ryan chuckled. "You know me too well."  
"Yeah. With you it's kind of like reading a blank page." At that Ryan frowned.

"Okay, Richoemon; first, that's not funny. Second, get your own lines, I already used that one on Chris."

"I can't help it," said Richoemon crossing his arms. "I don't know any other jokes. I have only you, Chris, and Caramon for material."

Ryan grimaced. "Terrific. We make quite the comedy team. You don't know any jokes and I only know bad ones. Somehow I just know that I'm being a bad influence on you."

"And you're trying to change the subject Ryan. You still haven't told me what's on your mind."

"You really do know me too well."

"Blank page Ryan."

"Oh shut up," Ryan grumbled before sighing. "It's just that I don't know where to begin…"

"Try starting at the beginning…"

"Richoemon…" said Ryan growing exasperated. "The thing is we only know half the story and the others are going to be bombarding us with questions that we likely won't be able to answer. We don't even know why we were being chased all the way to that stupid temple and I still don't know how to explain this…" pointing to his grayish black digivice. "And I'm not in the mood for telling any long-winded stories." He thought for a minute and sighed again. It was starting to become a bad habit. "For that matter, I don't think our host is going to want to hear one either."

"She sure seemed angry last night," Richoemon said.

"She's probably got something going on and we just happened to crash land at a bad time. It's not our business though."

Richoemon was silent for a moment. "Hey Ryan, what was that big shiny ball in the sky last night?"

"What? Oh, that was the moon."

"Moon?"

"Yeah. Remember how back in the digital world the Earth was in the sky?"

"Yeah."

"Well we have something similar to that here with the moon and sun."

"Sun?"

"Yeah, the big bright ball that's in the sky right now."

Richoemon looked up and suddenly his eyesight was assaulted by the brightness of earth's closest star. Crying out from the temporary blindness he stumbled forward, and as Murphy's Law would have it, a toe claw caught on a crack in the sidewalk. Gravity took care of the rest and the poor digimon crashed to the ground. Ryan hurriedly knelt to check on his buddy, and after he had made sure that he was all right, Ryan helped the dino back to his feet.

"I should probably tell you that it's never a good idea to look at the sun like that. You can damage your eyes." Richoemon grumbled a bit, and Ryan grinned as he thought of a way to mess with his friends mind. "By the way, you should also know that if you step on a crack, you break your mother's back."

"WHAT!?"

* * *

After much laughter on Ryan's part, followed by many apologies and attempts to relieve his almost frantic friend of his fears by explaining to him that stepping on cracks most definitely does NOT break any mothers back, the pair resumed their journey, getting lost at least twice in the process. During their search, Ryan and Richoemon had received a lot of looks from the people around them, causing Ryan to almost curse himself for being so used to his friends appearance and for forgetting what it was that set digimon apart in the real world. Seeing as how all the looks were ones of curiosity and not of fear, and that no one seemed to be in a hurry to call the authorities, he was able to relax a bit and put his worries on the back burner to chew over later. The only real trouble that they had encountered involved a little girl who took an 'interest' in Richoemon, which is to say poking and prodding, and asking obscenely loud questions (despite her mothers attempts to silence the child) about his friend. Ryan had tried passing the dino off as his little cousin 'Jamie' who was wearing a suit down to a friend's birthday party in the park, but for some reason the little girl didn't buy it.

The amount of people who were passing by with amused and curios looks on their faces led Ryan to believe that he was in a city full of crazy people. But so long as those crazy people didn't try to take Richoemon away from him, he found it hard to find a reason to complain about it.

It was sometime past nine O'clock when the pair arrived at the edge of the park. Heaving a sigh, the two walked on in, leaving the craziness of the city behind them. After a few minutes of aimlessly wandering (and Ryan complaining to Richoemon about his apparent inability to distinguish scents) their ears picked up some commotion coming from a familiar stairway.

"Do you think that's them?" Ryan asked Richoemon. Before the little dinosaur could speak, a sudden burst of indignation from up the stairs suddenly gave them their answer.

"OHHH… GUARDROMON! BE CAREFUL! THE IDEA IS TO SURPRISE JERI! NOT FREAK HER OUT!"

"Oh, dear. Sorry."

Richoemon and Ryan both exchanged glances. "It's them," they said at the same time, and then proceeded up the stairs. As they neared the hut, they caught a glimpse of what Kazu and his friends, Guardromon, Kenta, and Marine Angemon were up to. Ryan winced. He felt really bad for Leomon right now. _Just what possessed the guy to actually agree to sit still for something like this?_ What he saw had to be the most primitive and poorly executed attempt at camouflage he had ever seen in his life. Bushes had been mutilated, and their excess parts broken off and draped over the great Lion, or stuck in his proud mane. From the look in Leomon's eye, Ryan had to wonder why the kid's weren't dead yet, or at least unconscious.

"Ummm… You mind explaining to me just what exactly is going on here?" Ryan asked, breaking the group out of their version of _Arts and Crafts_. The two kids and their digimon spun around, shock etched onto their faces, but it quickly dissolved from the visor wearing kid once he saw who it was.

"Hey, you're that Ryan kid from last night! What's up?"

Ryan shrugged. "Nothing too much hopefully. And this…?" Indicating the mess that was Leomon.

"Oh, well, Kenta here got the idea to hide Leomon in some bushes as a surprise for our friend Jeri…"

"I did not! This was YOUR idea!"

"Pipupi!" Cried the little pink digimon that fluttered nearby.

"That's right!" Replied Kenta.

_Ooookay, _thought Ryan, not really comprehending a single thing that was just exchanged between them. Turning back to Kazu he said, "I don't suppose that it occurred to you to just simply cover him in gift wrap and stick on a sign that said 'do not open 'till Christmas'. I'm sure that would've gone over better." Leomon growled menacingly but Kazu stuck to his guns.

"Hey! We're just tryin' to do somethin' special for his partner Jeri. I mean, the last time she saw him he was being deleted and…"

"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA! T on the field! Leomon was deleted?"

"You don't have to talk about him as if he wasn't here," said Kenta, but no one paid any attention to him.

Ryan's head was spinning. Too much information too fast. _Partners? Jeri? Deleted? ARRRGH! Leomon you never said anything about ANY of this! _To top it all off came the rebuttal from his subconscious; _you never did ask. _Taking a deep breath he spoke. "I guess we do have quite a lot to talk about huh?"

"Well, obviously," retorted Kazu. Ryan glared at the kid, but mostly ignored the comment.

"Leomon, why don't you go brush yourself off and stay out of sight or something. We'll call you when we need you." The great beast nodded gratefully and stood up, leaving the group to their own devices, and Kazu looking a little disappointed. Ryan looked over at Kenta. "Okay, from the beginning. What's all this about Leomon?"

* * *

Some time later…

Ryan lay on the ground, watching the clouds go by. A blade of grass stood at attention from its spot in between his teeth, and his eyes held a far away look in them. Kazu and Kenta were outside the stone hut playing the card game version of their partners while the real life version watched their moves intently, Guardromon every so often interrupting with an exclamation about what Kazu had in his hand (and earning a number of expletives from Kazu as he did so). Kazu had offered to teach Ryan how to play but he had politely refused. He needed some time to think things through. Richoemon lay on his stomach next to him; occasionally snapping at the bugs that flew to near and making a snack out of the grass around him (_"You're just going to puke it up later." "Am not!"_). Earlier Kazu and Kenta had given him a brief overview (and edited too, Ryan was sure) of the events that had led to Leomon's partnership with Jeri Katou and his eventual deletion at the hands of Beelzemon. Actually, Kazu did most of the talking, paying special attention to the scene where Takato had merged with Guilmon and kicked Beelzemon to the curb. As for how it was possible that Leomon was able to be alive when he was supposed to be dead, well, Kenta supplied this bit of information. It sounded mostly theoretical, drawing greatly from what he had gleaned from the TV show about some place called "Primary Village". Apparently it was a place where digimon were born, or reborn if they had the bad luck of getting knocked off. Ryan didn't know for sure if he could put too much stock into the idea though; Being that it was a kid's show, Primary Village sounded like something that was designed to appease parents whenever a digimon got killed, but then, a few months ago the idea of a TV show actually being real was something he would have laughed at. Ha, ha then, not so now so he guessed Primary Village was a bucket that could hold water after all. There was something though that tugged at the back of his mind like the sound of a dripping water faucet. Something just didn't sit right.

A shadow fell over Ryan's face, and he turned his eyes up to see a red, gold-eyed dinosaur looking at him with a goofy smile on his face. "Hiiiii!" Guilmon cried happily. Ryan couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey," he said as Guilmon cheerfully sat down next to him.

"Where're Rika and your other friends?"

Ryan shrugged. He seemed to do that a lot more lately. "Still back at the house for all I know. I decided to get an early start this morning."

"How come?"

"I needed to do some thinking before we had our little get-together. A lot happened to us when we were in the digital world, and I kinda needed to organize events in my mind."

"What was it like for you in the digital world?"

"I don't have any other experiences to compare it to really. On one hand it was dangerous, and confusing; absolutely nothing like what we had back home. Maybe if I had more experiences with the digital world I could tell you for sure…"

Guilmon nodded in understanding. "I think I know what you mean. I was born in the real world, and I didn't know any other place before then. But even this world seemed strange to me, but Takato says that's just because I was a baby and didn't know any better. The digital world was a new experience for me, but until after the battle with D-Reaper I had very little knowledge of it, so I couldn't really say how I could connect with it."

Ryan felt his curious at the mention of D-Reaper. The kid's talked about it a lot, but he had never heard of it before. _Something else to put on the back burner for later I guess._

"And now?" Ryan continued with Guilmon.

"Now it's almost like it's a second home to me, but it just wouldn't be the same if Takato wasn't there with me."

Ryan nodded. "Home is where the heart is."

"Huh? My home is in my chest?" Responded Guilmon, confused.

"You should probably ask Takato about that later," said Ryan. _Man, and I thought Richoemon was weird. _

"So this is where you've been hiding," spoke a cool voice from behind them. Ryan took a look and was a bit surprised to find Renamon standing behind them.

"How do you do that?" Asked Ryan.

"Do what?"

"Just show up out of nowhere without making a sound." At this, Renamon smiled secretly.

"How did you leave Rika's house?" Renamon replied with an almost teasing sound to her voice. Ryan gave the fox a quizzical look.

"The front door," he replied. The fox digimon's expression went from cool amusement to unreadable in a second, but her eyes never left Ryan's. "What?" He asked feeling a bit uncomfortable. Renamon said nothing, and soon vanished into thin air. Ryan and Richoemon blinked a couple times before looking at Guilmon.

"Do you ever get used to that?" Richoemon asked.

"Get used to what?"

"Never mind," grumbled Ryan.

A few minutes after the brief encounter with Renamon, Rika and Chris with Caramon perched on his usual spot on Chris' shoulder showed up. Renamon appeared next to the redhead and the two exchanged a glance. Whatever was in the Kitsunes facial expression (_or lack of,_ thought Ryan) couldn't have been anything good as the girl frowned slightly. Ryan wondered what kind of bond they could have that allowed them to communicate like that.

"Aaah…" Chris sat down across from Ryan, waving briefly at Guilmon and Richoemon before stretching out lazily on the grass. "Oh, man," he began. "I can't BEGIN to tell you just how good it feels to take a nice, hot bath…" Ryan growled, but Chris didn't pay any attention. "If I was home, I would've cleaned out the entire fridge, vegetables and all. Let me tell you, my friend, I'll never look at soggy brand flakes the same again. Even Oatmeal looked appetizing…" Ryan's stomach now matched his earlier growl.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Why?" Asked Guilmon innocently. "I like talking about food, especially if it involves bread and peanut butter." Now both Ryan's and Richoemon's stomachs growled. Richoemon sat up, almost surprised at the sound. Caramon laughed.

"Don't worry Richoemon. That's just your stomach letting you know that it's hungry. I'll explain the concept to you later."

"Are you saying that Tony the Tiger there doesn't know about eating?" Came a voice that could only belong to one Rika Nonaka. Chris struggled to hold in his laughter (muttering "Tony the Tiger" in between snickers) while Ryan paled a bit at the name before responding.

"Well," Ryan said clearing his throat. "He never seemed to anything except for the occasional drink of water. We just sorta figured that it had something to do with the digital world 'cause while we were there we found out that we didn't need to eat anything, so – uh – we sorta forgot about it."

"No large task there," said Chris laughing.

"Idiots," muttered Rika.

Caramon looked over at Ryan. "Hey ,where's Leomon at? I would've figured that he'd be here, waiting for his partner to show up."

_Guess Rika had filled them on Leomon's back history, _Ryan thought. He indicated the dynamic duo known as Kazu and Kenta. "I found those two getting into the Christmas season a little early, and persuaded them to wait a little bit longer. So now Leomon's off grooming somewhere…" Ryan grimaced. 'Leomon' and 'grooming' were two things he didn't think would ever go together in the same sentence, and apparently so did the others.

" _Grooming_? Should I even ask what those two numbskulls were doing?" Asked Rika almost crossly.

"Don't worry. It's not as bad as it sounds, though I gotta admit that it definitely changes my definition of weirdness…"

"Is it any weirder than your little 'run-in' with Sukamon and Chuumon?" Rika asked with a small, almost sadistic smile on her face. The look on Ryan's face was priceless. For a second, all the blood left his face in one mad rush as his eyes expanded to the size of golf balls. And then the blood returned with a vengeance that outdid even Guilmon's own crimson color.

"Wha…? HOW THE…?" Ryan stopped in mid-sentence as suddenly the light bulb clicked on upstairs. He looked over at Chris with an expression that screamed murder. Chris was already on his feet and backing up. "Chris…" Ryan growled.

"Hey," Chris said nervously. "C'mon dude, it's just a joke…"

"I thought we agreed to never, EVER, talk about that again!"

"Well, when we agreed to that I thought you meant between just us guys and mon. You never said anything about people outside our little group…"

"Your dead, Chris!" And with that, Ryan launched himself at the boy, who sidestepped him and took off towards the concrete bunker.

"Oh, c'mon! It's not like I gave her any details! I mean, seriously! I could've told her why Sukamon…"

Ryan gave a bloodcurdling Norse battle cry, causing Kazu and Kenta to look up in surprise. "Dude, what are they on?" Asked Kazu to no one in particular as they watched the uneven chase. Rika watched with a slightly embarrassed look as the comedy of errors began to unfold.

_At least they're almost as entertaining as Gogglehead, _she mused.

"Uh," began Caramon. "Shouldn't we try to separate them? It looks like he's trying to kill my partner." Noting that Ryan now had Chris wrapped in a headlock.

"Nope," said Rika, patting the lizard on the head. "Let them have their fun."

Richoemon and Guilmon simply watched with wide eyes and open jaws.

* * *

Takato, Henry, Terriermon, and Jeri ascended the staircase smiling comfortably in each other's presence. That is, until a sound that Terriermon could only identify as a 'commotion' (_"You couldn't be any less vague, could you?" Henry had asked the grinning rabbit_) reached their ears. Takato frowned. He could pick out a word that sounded like _die_, and it was being repeated over and over like some demented chant. What was even more confusing was that he could hear laughter, more specifically Rika's laughter, a rare sound indeed. Takato was surprised to realize that it had a beautiful note to it that brought his smile back to his face. It reminded him of that time on Locomon when he had overheard her song, and it made him feel just a little bit warm inside. A sharp cry of pain suddenly brought an end to the moment, and he raced up the stairs, not bothering to see if the others were following.

Jeri and Henry watched Takato's receding back for only a second before pursuing. "Is this part of your surprise?" She asked Henry.

"If it is, it's certainly not what we originally intended," Henry replied, baffled as the sound of laughter continued from up the stairs.

It didn't take long for Terriermon to throw in his classic _Momentai_.

The scene that the Tamers came upon had Kazu and Kenta near the shed with their respective partners looking confusedly at the two kids who were, for the moment, the main attraction. One of them, a blonde-haired kid, sat on the ground, groaning and rubbing the back of his head while the other, darker-haired boy, stood over him with a look of satisfaction on his face. The strangest sight of all to behold was the sight of Rika Nonaka, the Digimon Queen, laughing. The rare sound had a musical quality to it that held the Tamers spellbound. As the laughter came to an end, Rika found herself the center of attention. Blushing madly, she glared at her friends, causing Kazu and Kenta to actually take an unconscious step back.

"What?" Rika demanded, but no one was too terribly interested in giving an answer.

No one that is, except for Terriermon, whose mouth and wit seemed to operate independently of his survival instincts. He looked around for a second, as if he expected some calamity to happen. "That's funny," he said resting a paw on his chin in mockery of his Tamer. "I could've sworn that the world was supposed to end."

"Terriermon…" Henry said warningly.

"What? C'mon Henry, when was the last time you saw Rika laugh like that?"

"Uh, actually," Takato interjected. "She was laughing when Guilmon sneezed in the bread dough that we were making during D-Reaper."

"Exactly! And the world was ending right?"

"TERRIERMON!"

Kazu looked back and forth between Terriermon and Rika, wondering why the long-eared digimon was still alive. The way Rika looked right now you'd think that she was about to chew nails and spit out staples. _Fuming_, you could say, and yet she held back.

_Oh, today is just going to full of firsts isn't it?_

Jeri, who knew that Henry's partner likely wouldn't stop until Rika exploded, searched for a fast way to change the subject. Her eyes, lighted on the two boys that seemed to have started the whole scene that she had just witnessed (and still couldn't almost believe) and the realization came to her that she had never seen them before.

"Takato?" She asked hesitantly, pointing in the direction of the strangers. "Do you know them?"

Takato smiled. It was time to get this show on the road.

"Jeri, meet Ryan and Chris. They're part of the reason why we're having a Tamer's meeting today. They just arrived here from the digital world last night…"

"HEY!" Shouted a small lizard digimon. "What are we? Chopped liver? Honestly, it's hard to get any recognition around here!"

"Oh yeah," said Takato laughing. "And those are their partners Caramon and…uh…Richoemon. They're Tamers from America."

"As if we couldn't figure that out for ourselves Takato," said Rika with a small smile on her face.'

Chris raised a hand. "Um… not to disrupt anything, but what are _Tamers_?" This question brought a number of strange looks from the other children and their digimon. "Okay, yeah," said Chris now feeling a little foolish. "In hindsight, it does seem like a dumb question, but a little clarification helps."

"Tamers are people who have digimon as partners," replied Henry.

"Yeah," said Terriermon. "They're usually identifiable by their fancy digivice or their fashion sense." This last barb was aimed at Takato, who bristled slightly, but like Rika from earlier he decided to keep his peace.

"How could you not know about Tamers?" Demanded Kazu. "I mean, here you are with digivices AND digimon and you're telling us that you have no idea…"

"Hey!" Shot back Chris. "We didn't exactly get any job training or even a description when we got these things. They just showed up and dumped us in the middle of a desert. Well, actually it was Ryan's that did it…"

"Okay, yeah, I can see your point." Said Kazu, drawing a number of raised eyebrows aimed in his direction. "But I would've expected Rika to at least give you guys an overview. I mean, we had to fill Ryan in on Leomon since he…"

"AaaaaAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Everyone stared at the goggle-wearing kid standing next to Jeri with bewildered looks. Jeri glanced at his flushed face.

"Takato? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly. Takato looked at Jeri with wide, nervous eyes; a drop of sweat traced its way down his heated face.

"Ummm…Yeah, sure! No problem, Jeri! I just thought a…uh… bee stung me. That's all." The boy chuckled nervously under Jeri's gaze and he looked away, humming to himself.

"Wuss," said Rika in a mock scorn, but glad that someone had stopped Kazu from spilling the beans before they were ready. A little drastic and sudden, but at least it was affective. Terriermon giggled and chipped in his two cents.

"Momentai."

Henry sighed. Seeing as how everyone was here now there didn't seem to be any reason to continue beating around the bush like this.

"Ryan? Is your…friend…ready?" Ryan snapped out of his daze and smiled.

"Oh yeah! Well, at least I hope so. If not you can thank Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dummy over there for their taste in packaging." Henry was about to ask just what he was talking about when Ryan turned and cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to the woods:

OK! YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!"

A few seconds went by in which nothing happened, but then, like a breath of fresh air, the massive form of Leomon emerged from the woods. Jeri's eyes went wide with surprise, and she drew in a light gasp of air at the sight that now stood before her. The large Lion-warrior approached the young Tamer and ceremoniously dropped down to one knee as though he were a suitor about to propose to her. The girl almost stepped back, but just seeing Leomon, even if it wasn't really him, alive and well, was enough to freeze her in place. Leomon opened his mouth to speak and Jeri whimpered, like a child lost in the woods. Her name sounded like a soft caress coming from him, and Jeri knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it really was Leomon. Her Leomon. This proved to be too much for the girl and she flung herself at the digimon, tears forcing their way out of her clenched eyes.

"LEOMON!" She sobbed into his mane as he carefully embraced her.

Nothing more was said for the next few minutes.

* * *

The children and Digimon all sat in front of the entrance to Guilmon's hut, Jeri having taken up looking at Leomon as a way to ensure that this was in no way an illusion or even some cruel joke. Everyone seemed much more relaxed than they had been earlier, and perhaps that was because of the knowledge that two people who should never have been parted were now once again together.

"So, how did you find him?" Takato asked Ryan as he munched on a piece of Guilmon bread that the red dino had been more than happy to share from his stash. Ryan elbowed Chris, who saw that his mouth was too full of the cinnamon flavored goodness to answer, so Chris took that as his cue.

"Actually, he found us; we were getting clobbered by an Okuwamon and Leomon just happened to be in the area. Being the honorable and noble hero that he is he came to our aid and volunteered to be our guide until we could find a way home."

"Yeah, that sounds like our Leomon all right," Laughed Takato.

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he be Takato?" Asked Guilmon innocently. "He still smells the same."

"I'll explain it to you later, boy," said Takato, giving the dinosaur a pat on the head.

"Still, considering what happened after he met us, I wouldn't have blamed him if he did decide to just up and leave us," said Ryan, swallowing the last of his bread. "I mean, we just seemed to turn into a magnet for trouble…"

"Getting chased all the way to an abandoned temple for the better part of what might have been a week or two…"

Ryan frowned. "I wasn't referring to that…"

"What was chasing you?" Asked Henry from his spot on the ground.

"A couple ultimates and a bunch of champions," said Chris. "We never did find out why, though now that I think about it the attacks started up shortly after we blew up an Azuredramon…"

"Azuredramon?" Asked Takato, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, check it out." Without thinking, Ryan pulled out his digivice and called up an image of the creature that had attacked them all those weeks ago. He paused before showing it to them, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Something wrong?" Asked Takato.

Ryan blinked. "N-no. It's just that I've never called up an image of a past digimon before. Never knew that I could do that." He shook his head and let the Tamers see. The digimon was a blue, serpentine like digimon that bared a resemblance to Azulongmon, only without the beard, chains, armored headpiece, and horn. The expression on its face was not one of benevolence either, but more as though snarling was as close it could get to kindness on a good day. Below its picture read:

Azuredramon

Stage: Champion

Type: Data

Special Attack: Blue Thunder, Azure Slash

Henry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Nope, can't really help you there. I've never even heard of that kind of digimon before. How about you Rika?"

"Please, it's almost an insult to even ask. It's a medium class Champion; it stats are all right for its level, but most players don't use it. It's just not in the same league as the more familiar cards like Greymon or Seadramon."

"That's all? No extra abilities?"

"Nope. It's the kind of card players will use for data and not much else."

"Well, I guess it's possible that they thought downloading the data from your digimon would get them to the digital world," said Henry. "It is a popular belief among digimon."

"Yeah, Leomon said as much while we were traveling," Ryan said as he put away his digivice. "But I get the feeling that it doesn't add up."

"What? Azuredramon and the attacks, or the digital world's beliefs?"

"Azuredramon and the attacks. Of course, the digital world's beliefs sound pretty messed up too, so take your pick"

"Okay, so maybe those attacks starting after your fight with an Azuredramon was a coincidence, and maybe they weren't," said Rika. "But we'd still like to hear what happened to you in the digital world." Turning to Ryan she said, "Last night you said that there was a story behind your version of Ken's 'Dark Digivice'; care to elaborate?"

Ryan glowered. "I really don't want to talk about that. And just what is this 'Ken's _Dark Digivice_' thing that you guys prattle on about?" Henry waved him off.

"Later; right now we'd like to hear your tale."

Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair while Crhis and Caramon watched him carefully. Personally, Chris felt that they should tell them, but he respected Ryan's decisions. If Ryan didn't want to talk than he wouldn't badger him about it.

"All right," Ryan said finally. "I'll tell you. I – I think that I NEED to talk about it anyway, and that maybe by telling you you'll be able to provide some insight as to how I can solve this problem." He looked over at his partner with a sad look on his face. "Mine and Richoemon's."

Takato felt as though cold fingers had wrapped themselves around his heart. Why did he have a feeling that this kid's story was going to sound familiar?

"It was around the same time that we found Leomon. Like Chris said, we were getting our butts handed to us by an Okuwamon, and Leomon jumped in to save us. Not that it made much of a difference though; three champions against one very large ultimate didn't make much of an impression and he tore through us like wet toilet paper." The Tamers, who had seen an Okuwamon in action in the second season of Digimon nodded, knowing perfectly well what he meant. "That is, until Richoemon digivolved to the ultimate level too…"

"Did he digivolve…wrong?" Asked Takato remembering what happened when Guilmon digivolved to Megidramon. Rika cast a concerned look in his direction and Jeri clasped one of his hands with her own.

"No," said Ryan. "That's just it. He digivolved _right_ and we lived to fight another day. And then we ran into something…"

"What was it?" Asked Renamon.

Ryan frowned. "We don't really know. At first glance it looked like a regular digimon. The digivice was at least able to identify it as a Mammothmon…"

"And it had a hard time doing even that as I recall," said Chris. "It was like something was interfering with the digimon analyzer."

Ryan nodded. "But there was something different about it. The coloring was off, though to be honest it was a little bit hard to tell since it was night out."

"It could have been a corrupted evolution," said Henry. "Sometimes when digimon digivolve they end up with a darker coloring than they otherwise would have had."

"Yeah, except the analyzer kept insisting that it was your average, everyday, run – of – mill Mammothmon. No frills attached." Chris, remembering what Ryan had done earlier took out his digivice and called up an image of the Mammothmon they had seen that evening. The analyzer showed them a picture of a regular Mammothmon, Brown hair, metallic faceplate, and ivory horns concealing missiles. "This is what the digivice showed us," said Chris. "What we saw though looked like it had just walked out of an oil spill."

Henry studied the stats that were stored in the programs memory, and noticed something. "What's this _unknown data configuration_?" Pointing to some text below the image. Chris shrugged.

"Not too sure. But it may have had something to do with how the digimon reacted to things. It didn't _act _normal," Chris almost laughed at his statement. He didn't really know what passed for normal Mammothmon behavior, but from what he saw that night he could comfortably bet that sure wasn't it. "The way it _moved_ wasn't natural; like it didn't know what to do with its body. Plus, it got spooked by our campfire. In fact, I think that the campfire may have been the reason why it attacked us in the first place."

"Why's that?" Asked Jeri, now joining in on the conversation.

"I don't usually ask why a thunderstorm occurs, or why a volcano explodes, but that Mammothmon definitely prompted the question, especially since it seemed about as concerned as stomping on the fire as it was with flattening us, and then Terradramon breathed a fireball at it…"

"Terradramon?" This from Kazu.

"Richoemon's Champion form," said Chris showing them an image of a larger, hairless version of Richoemon. It had two great horns arching out from the back of its head in the same direction as a goats, and its eyes held a look of ferocity that its rookie form seemed to lack.

"So what happened?" Asked Jeri.

"We beat it. Barely. Our attacks seemed to have a hard time touching it for some reason. Even Caramon had to digivolve to ultimate in order to take it down. And for a digimon that tripped over its own shadow, believe me when I say, it didn't go down easy."

"So what's this gotta do with Ryan and Richoemon?" Asked Kenta.

"We're getting to that…" began Ryan but was interrupted as both his and Chris' digivices began beeping in warning. No sooner had they stood up and pulled them out that a flash of light could be seen from the direction of the city, near where the Hypnos towers were located. The Tamers D-Arcs sounded a similar alarm as a familiar mist settled in the area.

"BIO-EMERGENCE!" Shouted Rika as Renamon materialized next to her, and in a flash they took off in the direction of the mist.

"Let's go guys!" Shouted Takato as he and Guilmon quickly took the lead. Ryan, his troubles momentarily forgotten in the heat of the moment looked at Chris and Caramon.

"Hiyo Silver," he said with a grin, before he and Chris joined the Tamers in their race. Chris raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

* * *

A short distance away from the group of children, a shadowed figure watched impassively before setting off after them.

* * *

The Tamers kept a good pace as they ran through the crowds of people. The going was rather easy, as many of them had seen the flash of light and the fog settle in. The presence of children with digimon at their side running towards the mists only confirmed their suspicions; a bio-emergence was eminent.

The smart ones suddenly remembered that they had an appointment that they had to make and quickly disappeared.

Even though Ryan had been one to have _bio-emerged_ (as the Tamers put it) into the real world, he didn't really have much of a clue as to what it was or how it looked. He had been unconscious during the trip home, so he didn't exactly get the chance to take pictures and ask the tour guide to point out any famous landmarks along the way. Now here was an opportunity to see one and be conscious for it. He was a little bit excited about the prospect even though the outcome would most likely become violent. Oh well, he'd burn that bridge when he'd get there. Now if only his digivice would stop beebing!

_I already know that there's a bio-emergence you stupid thing, _he thought pulling it out and calling up the map program. It displayed all the signals of the Tamers, themselves, their digimon, and the signals coming from the digital field even though they were faint. Suddenly he pulled up short as he noticed something else on the map, Richoemon almost stumbling when he stopped to look at his partner.

"Ryan?" He asked.

_That's weird. It looks like there's another signal…_

CRASH!

A large, dark-colored ape-like digimon carrying a massive cudgel landed in front the two. Chris and the Tamers, who had continued running on ahead came to a halt and turned towards the noise. Chris' jaw dropped at the sight of the digimon standing in front of his two friends, its color a sickeningly familiar shade.

"Hey!" he began. "That's…"

"Nuke Fl…" Richoemon began only to be batted out of the way by the digimon's club. Chris' digivice glowed as the creature advanced on Ryan.

"CARAMON, DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"DRACARAMON!"

The red sphere that had surrounded the little lizard burst apart, revealing a large, wingless dragon with a body build and structure that reminded Henry of Garurumon. His reddish-green scales glinted in the sunlight, and without wasting a second Dracaramon launched himself at the attacker.

"DIAMOND CLAW!" Dracaramon shouted as his front claws glowed with a rainbow light. Spinning on a dime the ape smashed its club on Dracaramon's jaw, hurling him to the ground.

"DIGIMODIFY!" Shouted Henry as he slid a card through his D-Arc. "Digivolution Activate!"

D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N

"TERRIERMON, DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"GARGOMON!"

The long-eared digimon known as Terriermon was immediately replaced by a larger, gun toting, pants wearing version of himself, and he quickly joined in the battle, blasting away with the cannons that had replaced his hands.

"GARGO LASERS!" Green energy blasts fired from the cannons and hit their target dead on, but the creature didn't react to them; didn't even seem to feel them in fact. Without so much as a snarl or a growl, it charged towards Gargomon at an insane speed. Reacting with reflexes instilled in him from his martial arts training and his experiences from dealing with wild ones, Henry slid another card through his digivice.

"DIGIMODIFY! SPEED ACTIVATE!"

With a sudden burst of speed, Gargomon dodged the Ape's attack and laid in with another barrage of laser attacks, which still seemed to show no sign of having any affect.

And all the while, it hadn't made a single sound. Not even to declare its attack.

Rika and Takato were about to order their digimon into the fray when the sound of an explosion caught their attention. Rika's eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. _Don't tell me that there's more than one…_Looking at her D-Arc she saw two distinct signals around the digital field that they had been heading to. And based off of the readings, they were strong.

"HENRY!" Shouted Takato. "There're more digimon down near the digital field! Do you think that you can hold things here?" Henry felt sweat running down his forehead as Gargomon barely dodged another attack.

"I'll manage," he said shakily at first, before continuing in a stronger voice. "Just get down there!"

Takato nodded and turned to the others. "Kazu, you and Kenta stay here and lend them a hand. Rika and I will…"

"No."

Takato turned to look at Leomon. "No. The others will go with you. I will stay to aid Ryan, Henry, and Chris." Looking him in the eye Takato could see two things; confidence and determination. Leomon wouldn't be swayed.

"Leomon, are you sure?" Asked Jeri with a note of fear in her voice. Takato wondered if she was afraid of losing Leomon again but he pushed the thought away. Priorities first.

"All right," he said nodding. "You stay here and lend a hand. The rest of you with me!" Without waiting to see if anyone was following, Takato ran off towards the other signals, wondering just what was in store for them.

"Jeez. Since when did Gogglehead become such a general?" Said Rika sarcastically as she chased after their unofficial leader.

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon…" whispered Henry as he tried to use his D-Arc's analyzer to identify their enemy, but the holographic circle kept coming up empty. This was disturbingly reminding him of that time when they had fought the Devas.

"GOT IT!" Shouted Chris as his digivice rewarded him with the info that they needed. Then he frowned. "Wait, that can't be right."

"What is it?" Asked Henry.

"According to this, that's supposed to be an Apemon! But, it can't be!"

"You mean like a corrupted evolution form…?"

"No! I mean an Apemon! A regular, yellow-furred Apemon!"

Henry stared at Chris for a second and glanced at the digimon that they were currently engaged with. _That can't be an Apemon, _Henry thought before recalling part of Ryan's and Chris' story where they encountered that strange Mammothmon.

* * *

Takato, Rika, Kazu, and Kenta arrived to a scene of chaos. Cars were overturned, lamp posts downed, holes blown indiscriminately in the ground, and, oh yeah, the seemingly endless number of panicking people trying desperately to give the rampaging digimon ample room to continue their reign of terror and destruction. Rika took off her shades and got off Kyubimon as Takato, Kenta, and Kazu came flying in courtesy of Air Guardromon, and they were soon joined by Growlmon. The kids surveyed the area around them and quickly found their quarry; both were humanoid in appearance and dressed in dark colored armor, and one of them was carrying a very large sword.

As yet, neither of them had noticed the children with their digimon. Small blessings.

"Black Knightmon," said Rika as she read off the stats from her D-Arc. "Ultimate level; special attack: Darkness Sword." The image displayed over her D-Arc changed to show the other digimon. "And the other one's Nightmare Blitzmon, Ultimate level. Special Attack: Black Lightning and Thunder Fist." The hologram receded as she looked up. "Terrific, they're both virus types."

"Worried Rika?" Taunted Kazu.

"Only because you're here."

"Ha! Ha – Hey!"

"C'mon you guys," said Takato. We need to come up with a plan. Man I wish that Henry were able to join us. He's great when it comes to plans."

"Well he's not here Gogglehead, so deal with it!"

Takato nodded reluctantly before his face fell into a determined look. Seeing it, you could feel that he was well in control of the situation. Now if only his heart would stop racing.

"All right," said Takato, turning to his friends. All eyes were on him. "There's two of them and four of us so we're going to partner up and double team them."

"Brilliant plan, Patton…" Said Rika.

"I wasn't done yet. Kenta, you and Marine Angemon will back up Rika and Kyubimon. Marine Angemon's a mega and a vaccine so you guys should have the advantage. Kazu, you and Guardromon are with me and Growlmon, but be careful. I don't think that I need to remind you that Guardromon still can't digivolve to ultimate."

"No problem Chumly. We'll hang back while you and Growlmon do the heavy lifting, and if we see an opening we'll take it. If worst comes to worst you guys can always biomerge and send them home crying."

Kenta blinked. _Did Kazu actually understand what he was told AND say that he'd follow orders without complaining?_

"Gotta admit Gogglehead, that actually does sound like a good idea. And it came from you of all people," said Rika in mock surprise. "I'm impressed. Now which one do you wanna take?"

"Ladies first."

"Kenta, I think Takato's lost it. He actually thinks Rika's a _lady_."

"Shut up, Kazu!" Shouted Rika as she willed a blue card into existence. Takato did likewise and they both slashed them through their D-Arcs.

M-A-T-R-I-X D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-ON

"GROWLMON!"

"KYUBIMON!"

"MATRIX DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"WARGROWLMON!"

"TAOMON!"

Taomon with Marine Angemon in tow went after Black Knightmon, her Thousand Spells attack being enhanced by the vaccine effects of Marine Angemon's Kahuuna Waves, while WarGrowlmon charged at Nightmare Blitzmon with his Radiation Blades, Guardromon running interference with Guardian Barrage to keep their foe off balance. The two sides clashed, each one striving for dominance. Windows shattered from the force of the attacks, but at the moment neither group was able to gain an edge over the other.

* * *

Yamaki glared at the ruined screens of the control room and swore profusely, unable to grasp how such a thing could have occurred. Fifteen minutes ago Reilly and Talley had been tracking two wild ones and had deployed Yuggoth. The program attached itself to its targets when out of the blue an unidentified data cluster entered its zone of influence, and that's when the control room exploded into chaos. There were no injuries fortunately, but at present Hypnos was now blind until the technicians could get it up and running again on the backup systems.

Until then…

There was the sound of a soft thump and the floor shook worryingly. Yamaki didn't need a seismologist to tell him that there were digimon going at it somewhere nearby, and if he was a good judge of things (despite his previous lack of judgment in the past) those kids were smack in the middle of it.

It irked him to have to rely on children to bail them out whenever things went south. Not because of pride (for that ship had sailed after his problems with Juggernaut) but because they were, as mentioned, children. It didn't seem fair that they should take on these kinds of responsibilities.

_But they aren't exactly children anymore, _he thought. They had already experienced far more than most kids in their age group, almost as much as the most grizzled veteran in the armed forces, maturing them well beyond their years. He had come to respect the Tamers and their digimon as individuals, but that didn't make things any easier.

Yamaki flicked open a lighter in his hand, and closed it again for the third time in as many seconds. Some habits, such as his concern for the Tamers, were hard to break.

* * *

"SCALE BLAZE!"

"DIGIMODIFY! POWER ACTIVATE!"

"GARGO LASERS!"

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

Things were not going well. Even with the addition of Leomon to boost their attacks, the Apemon was not showing any signs of slowing down or even being hurt (despite taking numerous direct hits), while the opposite was holding true for the Tamers. The dark colored digimon attacked with a ferocity that surpassed most wild ones that Henry had encountered in the past, and was almost on par with the Devas. Henry began to get the idea that Apemon's power levels were far beyond what they should be.

_I'm starting to think that Gargomon is going to have to matrix digivolve for this one. _Looking over to where Ryan stood, he was glad to see that Richoemon was starting to recover from Apemon's earlier attack. Henry smiled. The more the merrier.

"BUNNY PUMMEL!"

Seeing an opening Gargomon charged towards Apemon, green flames licking at his gun barrels. As his cannon flew on its path towards the Apemon's face, Gargomon couldn't help but smirk. _Gotcha,_ he thought.

Then his arm phased out of stability.

_What…? _Henry's eyes went wide. _Did I just see…?_

WHAM! Apemon delivered a brutal blow to the side of Gargomon's face, sending data flying through the air as a cry escaped his lips. Gargomon went down like a water logged hacky sack.

"GARGOMON!" Henry shouted.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Leomon shouted. He swung his blade at the Apemon, putting all his strength into it, determined to end this fight no matter what. His blade glowed with energy as it arched towards his enemy.

Only to be countered by Apemon's cudgel, the force of it actually sending Leomon realing back, but he kept his feet on the ground. That's when the Apemon did something different. Its mouth grew impossibly large and an orange glow burned in the back of its throat like a furnace. Henry had the sudden feeling that nothing good could come out of this. Thinking quickly Henry pulled out a card and tossed it to Jeri.

"Jeri! Use this card! It's Leomon's only chance!"

Jeri caught it and upon seeing what it was slashed it through her D-Arc without hesitating.

"DIGIMODIFY! WARGREYMON'S BRAVE SHIELD ACTIVATE!"

A shield with the crest of courage emblazoned on it appeared before Leomon, and gripping it he position the barrier in front of him at the same moment Apemon fired a blast of raw energy from its mouth.

What happened next left everyone speechless.

* * *

"DIGIMODIFY! SNOW-AGUMON'S FROZEN WIND ACTIVATE!"

Taomon raised an arm and fired a stream of cold air at the ground, causing ice to form just as Black Knightmon's foot touched down. The sudden change to a slippery, uncertain terrain caused the massive digimon to crash to the ground, and shortly after a string of angry curses could be heard emanating from within his helmet.

"Watch your step…" Taomon taunted.

"ATOMIC BLASTER!"

Twin crimson lasers erupted from WarGrowlmon's chest and smashed into Nightmare Blitzmon causing him to fall, his data briefly destabilizing, but held together. He stood up in time to block a Radiation Blade attack, and with one Thunder Fist, sent WarGrowlmon flying backwards.

"This is taking too long," Nightmare Blitzmon growled. "We must find the Keepers immediately!"

"Go then," said Black Knightmon with a grunt as he blocked Taomon's Talismon of Light attack with his sword. "I'll keep them busy." Nightmare Blitzmon nodded to his companion and leapt into the air, only to be downed a second later by a well timed Guardian Barrage. Nightmare Blitzmon cursed as the ground suddenly rushed to greet him. He crashed hard into the ground, chunks of pavement rocketing into the air, but Nightmare Blitzmon was far from out of the game.

"Data scum!" He spat as he sat up. "I have no time for you!"

"Well I suggest that you make time Chumly! Shouted Kazu as he readied a card for slashing. " 'Cause you're in the School of _Hard Knocks_ and Guardromon says class is still in session! So get ready to pull your butt off the ground again 'cause that's where it's goin to land!"

"Insolent dog," Nightmare Blitzmon said lowly as electricity gathered around him. This boy would pay dearly for interfering with his duty. He did not notice WarGrowlmon coming up behind him.

Black Knightmon swatted the annoying little mega of a fairy and saw that his comrade was in danger. _We can't complete our mission if we are deleted, _he thought. _Only one of us need survive this encounter, and he's the most able to get out of this fight and finish our task. He **has** to get away, even if it costs me my life. _Black Knightmon eyed Taomon as she circled him carefully. As long as she was around he couldn't aid his partner, and as long as the girl kept slashing those cards…

A light went on and swinging his sword in two wide slashing arcs, he hurled two energy attacks, one aimed for the red haired human and the other for the Taomon before turning towards the WarGrowlmon that was approaching his oblivious partner.

_Save yourself or save the girl, _He thought.

"RIKA!"

* * *

Rika stood like a deer caught in a cars headlights as she watched Black Nightmon's attack surge towards her, carving a trench in the ground, all coherent thought shocked from her mind. A shout suddenly brought her back to reality and she was tackled to the ground. "Oof!" Rika hit the ground hard as the attack swept by her, raining dirt and chunks of concrete around her. Looking over to her side she saw Takato laying next to her.

"You alright?" He asked with concern in his eyes. Rika _hmmphed _before responding.

"I'm fine, Gogglehead. What…" Her reply was cut off as Takato suddenly cried out and doubled up on the ground. "TAKATO!" She shouted. Now it was her turn to be worried. _What could be causing him…?_

WarGrowlmon's pained cry was answer enough.

* * *

Black Knightmon let out a satisfied grunt as his sword smashed into WarGrowlmon's side, felling him almost immediately. Guardromon came to earth a second later as gravity did its job on the damaged robot, as a battered Nightmare Blitzmon prepared to fly away.

_It looks like we might make it after all, _Black Knightmon thought smugly.

"DESOLATION CLAW!"

A blue energy blast ripped its way through the weakened Nightmare Blitzmon, deleting him instantly along with Black Knightmon's hopes.

_Oh, son of a…_ Black Knightmon thought right before a white light filled the air behind him.

"TALISMON OF LIGHT!"

Black Knightmon's vision of the world shattered.

* * *

"See what happens when you guys don't invite me to the party?" Said Ryo Akiyama, the Legendary Tamer himself, in a false _I'm insulted _voice that sounded more humorous than he let on. Walking towards the other Tamers and their digimon he took in each of their conditions as his partner Cyberdramon landed next to him. WarGrowlmon didn't look so good, and his condition was matched by Takato, who was currently being helped to his feet by Rika and Taomon. The kid had a tired look on his face that had Ryo a bit worried, but otherwise he looked okay. Taomon and Rika both looked fine; well, maybe fine didn't accurately describe Rika given the way she was glaring at him, but physically she looked all right. Marine Angemon fluttered weakly over to Kenta who also looked fine. Guardromon was on his back, singing something that sounded like _daisy…daisy… _in a flat monotone voice, so you can make the call there. Kazu, who had paused in the act of hugging his partner, well…

"ALRIGHT! RYO AKIYAMA'S HERE! I KNEW THAT HE'D BE HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! THIS IS AWSOME!"

Need I say more?

"Perfect timing as always, Ryo," said Rika sarcastically.

"What can I say, Rika?" Said Ryo grinning. "I'm a fan of last minute rescues. It reminds me of when we met in the digital world."

Rika growled menacingly, so Ryo decided that now was as good a time as ever to change the subject.

"So what's going on guys? Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" He looked over the Tamers carefully and then realized something. "Hey, where's Henry and that crazy rabbit, Terriermon?"

Before anyone could answer, an explosion erupted from within the park. Ryo stood dumbfounded for a moment.

"Never a dull day around here," he said finally.

* * *

55 


	5. Friend or Foe

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Disclaimer: Usual drill, I don't own Digimon, yada, yada, yada...

Chapter 4: Friend or Foe

There was no sound for what seemed like the longest time. Ryan and Richoemon stared with eyes wide and gaping jaws, their expressions matching exactly that of Henry, Jeri, Chris, and Dracaramon. The Apemon stood between the children, breathing heavily, as though it had run a marathon. Twice. It was not this sight that held the Tamers attention however, but rather something else that they had thought impossible, or at least when it came to a champion level digimon like Apemon.

Lying against the remains of a tree was the burnt and battered form of Leomon surrounded by the broken pieces of what was once the proud brave shield of War Greymon.

"No way…" Chris said finally. Unlike his friend Ryan he had knowledge about digimon like War Greymon (he had become something of a closet fan of the show when it premiered back home prior to their trip to the digital world) and was very much aware that the two items on his back weren't just there for decorative purposes. To see it broken so… so… effortlessly had sent his mind reeling, but there was no one more shocked than Henry.

"That's… that's impossible," Henry said and blinked his eyes, hoping that what he saw, what he just witnessed was a product of his imagination. It wasn't. _How was it able to do that? _Henry thought deliriously. _How was it able to use an attack like THAT? Apemon's aren't supposed to be capable of doing something like that, never mind have the kind of power to destroy War Greymon's shield!_

"Ooog…" Gargomon began to get up. Henry looked over at the Apemon and saw that it actually was tired. _Using that attack took a lot out of it. This is our chance. _

"GARGOMON!" He shouted as he pulled out a card and slid it through his D-Arc.

"DIGIMODIFY! RECHARGE ACTIVATE!"

Gargomon surged to his feet as new energy flooded through his body. Wasting no time Henry willed a blue card into existence and slashed it.

M-A-T-R-I-X D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N

"GARGOMON, MATRIX DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"RAPIDMON!"

Data stripped off of Gargomon's body as data changed and reorganized itself before solidifying again. His body became more streamlined, and green armor materialized; rocket launchers took the place of the guns that once made up his hands and his feet now bore an uncanny resemblance to elf shoes. It was this last that earned a remark from Chris.

"Whoa, Santa's little helper just got an upgrade," he said in awe, but so focused was everyone on the battle that no one heard him. With the sound of thrusters kicking in Rapidmon took to the air and aimed his rocket launchers at the Apemon.

"TIME TO SEND THIS MONKEY BACK TO THE JUNGLE," He shouted. "RAPID FIRE!" And with that, rockets roared from his arms, flying on a collision course with their target…

Only to shatter into shards of data before they could make contact.

_You have GOT to be kidding me, _Thought Chris forlornly. _Isn't this where we're supposed to beat the snot out of the enemy now? Shoot, this always worked on the TV show, but it looks like someone fell asleep when writing the script. Kinda makes me want to strangle the writer…_

"Henry?" Asked Rapidmon in a worried voice. "I think we need a new plan!"

"Uh… Momentai?"

"NOW'S NOT THE TIME HENRY!"

Had the situation not been so dire the sudden change in roles actually would have been funny.

_Why can't we get the easy ones? _Groaned Ryan as he brought out his digivice. Richoemon stepped forward.

_Why are we even bothering? _He questioned himself. _This guy just took an Ultimate level attack and shattered that shield like it was nothin'. What can we do? _He gripped his digivice. _Why am I even thinking like that? We've already been through too much to get walked on by some stupid Apemon as if we were a doormat. Chris and I have already faced something like this before that was WAY stronger than this guy. We took down that Mammothmon and we'll take down this guy too!_

The screen on Ryan's digivice flickered to life and began to glow as a sphere of data surrounded Richoemon. An electrical current ran its way from the digivice in Ryan's hand and flowed up his arm. It was time to…

Ryan's eyes bulged as his stomach suddenly began to heave. Something was very, very wrong.

"RICHOEMON, DARK DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"BLACKTERRADRAMON!"

Chris', Henry's, and Jeri's eyes widened when they heard those words spoken; a shock that was shared by the digimon that were still conscious. The data sphere shattered and in its place stood a black colored, gray –striped version of Richoemon's Champion form, its pale yellow eyes cold and piercing. The Apemon, sensing the change turned to regard its new enemy.

Henry looked at his D-Arc as it displayed the digimon's stats.

BLACKTERRADRAMON

Stage: Champion

Type: Virus

Special Attack: Crimson Burst, Tarturus Fire

"Chris? What going on here?"

Chris didn't answer right away, too stunned by the sight of his friends sudden transformation, but when he finally did he sounded shaken. "I – I don't know. This hasn't happened before, not when digivolving to Champion at least. This – this is new."

Henry growled in frustration. He was getting tired of all these sudden surprises.

Jeri was staring at BlackTerradramon, the scene bringing back terrible memories from her experience in the digital world, memories of Megidramon. Her eyes shifted over to the boy that was this creature's partner. He was on his knees, eyes closed and shaking, his hand clutching his digivice as though it were a lifeline. Watching him, Jeri had an epiphany.

_Whatever happened to him in the digital world, it's getting worse._

The Apemon shifted under the glare of BlackTerradramon, as though it were for the first time unsure of itself. With a snarl BlackTerradramon charged. Apemon swung its club at the beast, but the raging creature didn't seem to notice as its jaws clamped down on Apemon's left leg with murderous force before hauling the digimon into the air like a rag doll and unleashing a crimson blast of fire immediately after letting go.

"TARTURUS FIRE!"

The flame impacted with the Apemon and it fell to the ground, smoke curling from its body. Black Terradramon didn't waste any time as it dashed forward and began viciously driving its foot down on its form.

The sound of engines made Henry turn to see WarGrowlmon carrying Takato, Kenta, Kazu, Rika, and Ryo with Taomon, Guardromon, and Cyberdramon following closely behind.

"Henry! What's going on here?" Shouted Takato over the roar of WarGrowlmon's thrusters. For a moment Henry wasn't sure how to answer that. This whole fight just kept taking so many twists and turns that he couldn't get his bearings.

The sound of Ryan screaming broke his train of thought.

* * *

_Digivolve…_

Ryan felt his skin crawling with sweat. Just what was going on here? How had his buddy, his partner digivolved like this? And that voice…

_Digivolve…_

His temples pounded. It felt as though claws were scraping on his skull. Something wanted in and he knew with every ounce of his soul that if he opened the door to see what it was, it was all going to end, one way or another.

_Make me digivolve…_

_No…_ Ryan stared at his partner. He couldn't believe that… that thing was his friend. Not the same Richoemon that he met in a forest when he and Chris had been separated; who tried to make jokes and failed, who was with him when that living shadow blanketed his mind, and had been there when he ran afoul of Sukamon and Chuumon.

There was just no way that it could be…

Those eyes… Never had he seen such coldness before. They had all the warmth of a tomb and it seemed like they never left him.

He bit back a scream as he felt something tear into his mind like a tidal wave.

_Digivolve me…NOW!_

_No…_

_DIGIVOLVE ME!_

The pain increased. There didn't seem to be an end to it, and it was everywhere. His grip on his digivice became viselike.

_DIGIVOLVE ME! DIGIVOLVE…_

"NOOOOO!!!"

With furious strength Ryan threw his digivice away from him just as it began to glow. It tumbled a couple times on the ground and the light winked out. Ryan sat on the ground breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused and beginning to glaze while everyone stared at him. BlackTerradramon paused in his pummeling of Apemon, looking at the human with an icy fury in his eyes.

He hissed.

_Just what **is** going on here? _Thought Chris numbly.

Without wasting time Apemon slammed its club onto the side of BlackTerradramon's skull and he fell with a crash. Getting up the Apemon ran in the direction where Ryan's digivice had fallen, its free hand opening to pick it up.

"ATOMIC BLASTER!" WarGrowlmon sent twin crimson energy blasts from his chest rocketing towards Apemon, who simply knocked the attack aside with its club. The attack still had some effect though, as the deflected blast burst upon the ground and knocked Apemon to the side.

_That's it, _thought Chris as his own digivice began to glow. Dracaramon leapt forward as a sphere of data surrounded him.

"DRACARAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"METAL DRACARAMON!"

The sphere shattered, revealing a form similar to Dracaramon, only larger and covered with metal plates. Two-rotatabale laser turrets were positioned on his shoulders, ready and waiting to be used. They didn't have long to wait.

"LASER DISCHARGE!" He shouted as the two cannons swiveled around to sight on their target. Green bursts of energy erupted from them, smashing into the Apemon. The digimon finally screamed for the first time, and its data began dissolving. As the data shattered, the Tamers saw a shadow separate itself from the Apemon, revealing its true, yellow fur for all to see. The Apemon burst apart, leaving the shadow remaining for a second longer before it too melted away.

The Tamers watched in awe as Metal Dracaramon landed back on the ground, grinning fiercely in triumph. _How come his digimon was able to affect that Apemon while Rapidmon's and WarGrowlmon's attacks didn't do a thing? _Thought Henry. _There's more to this than what meets the eye._

METAL DRACARAMON

Stage: Ultimate

Type: Vaccine

Special Attack: Arsenal Barrage, Laser Discharge, Steel Claw

Ryo looked up from his D-Arc after reading off the stats of the new digimon. "Okay, someone care to explain to me what's going on here?"

"In a minute," said Henry turning to the Legendary Tamer. "We've got to check on…"

THUD!

"RYAN!" Chris shouted and ran over to his friend, and the others quickly joined him. Henry knelt down, checked his pulse and frowned worriedly. His heartbeat was erratic and his breathing uneven. His skin felt hot and clammy. Henry didn't take any of this as a good sign.

"I think we need to get him to a hospital…fast!"

"Traffics going to be messed up from all the damage that the fighting caused," said Kenta sourly.

"Not a problem. Rapidmon…"

"At your service!"

"Take Ryan and get him to the hospital, St. Jude's should be closest. We'll call Yamaki and let him know what's going on."

"You got it!" Said the android digimon almost cheerfully (belying how he really felt). Scooping up the unconscious kid Rapidmon soon became a green blur, and left a gust of wind that left everyone's hair a mess.

"Hey!" Said Rika. "Where's that kid's partner?" Everyone took a look about and quickly found a gray, immobile form lying on the ground where BlackTerradramon had fallen earlier. Walking over to it, Ryo pulled out his D-Arc and analyzed it.

GRAY RICHOEMON

Stage: Rookie

Type: data

Special Attack: Dusk Flame, Claw Hammer

"Wha… That's Richoemon?" Asked Chris. "But… Richoemon's…"

"GRAY Richoemon," said Ryo. "It looks like he shifted to another evolution line after de-digivolving." Chris looked at the older kid confused.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He heard someone, female by the sound of it, bite back a laugh but he didn't bother to look. Kazu stormed up and swung an arm over Chris' shoulder.

"THAT, Chris, is THE Ryo Akiyama, Legendary Tamer extraordinaire, and the greatest Digimon card player of all time! He even beat Rika, the Digimon Queen over there…" Rika gave Kazu a very cold glare, but the boy didn't notice. "He survived in the digital world for eight months before we rescued him…"

"Uh, Kazu…" Ryo began, looking embarrassed.

"He's known and respected throughout the digital world. Heck, you could even say that he's a celebrity there…"

"Sorry, never heard of him," said Chris, pulling a shocked Kazu's arm off from around him. "I was never very good with celebrities."

Ryo laughed. "I don't know whether to feel grateful or insulted that you're not part of my fan-base, but at least you're not worshipping me."

Chris shrugged. " That's just not my sort of thing," he said and extended a hand. "My names Chris."

"I'm Ryo." He said smiling as he accepted the offered hand.

"Yo."

"…"

"Sorry, Ryan's better at making jokes than me." His face fell at the thought of his friend, and then looked over at the digimon lying on the ground. "So, what's this about Richoemon shifting his – what'd you call it? – Evolution line?"

Ryo's face grew serious. "It's not too complicated. When a digimon digivolves they tend to follow a straight line from one form to the next, but sometimes an outside influence can change how they digivolve or appear, kind of like when Tyrannamon became Black Tyrannamon."

"Um… I don't think I'm that far ahead in my digimon episodes, but then I did miss a few episodes before the series entered the _Dark Masters _story arc."

"Wow, you're out of touch with the times, but we can talk about favorite episodes later. What's all this about? And who was that kid that Rapidmon took off with?"

Chris scratched the back of his head. "That's… a long story. I was helping that 'kid' tell it to the others, or rather the important parts. Some of which may have to something to do with why Richoemon's…_shifted_." Ryo nodded, but before he could say anything else Henry called their attention as he hung up Rika's cell phone, having apparently barrowed it while the two were exchanging pleasantries.

"Okay, I've given Yamaki a heads up on the situation and he wants us to get over there as soon as possible. He's going to be sending some agents down to St. Jude's to check up on Ryan and pick him up if he's up and about."

"So what do we do about Richoemon?" Asked Chris. Ryo gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Cyberdramon and I will take him down to Hypnos. They have all the things they need when it comes to dealing with digimon."

"Oh…uh, sure. Just one question; what's Hypnos?"

Ryo just smiled at the Tamers. "Have them tell you about it. Right now I gotta get going." He paused. "I suspect that there's going to be one interesting story to all this and I for one would like to hear it. Hope I'm not going to be disappointed." Ryo then turned and ordered Cyberdramon to pick up the little gray colored dinosaur before climbing up on his partners shoulder.

"That's one, big digimon," Chris remarked.

Ryo smirked. "Yeah, but I can handle him, isn't that right Cyberdramon?" The Ultimate just growled. "Don't worry. That's just his way of being friendly. Well, catch you guys later." And with that, Cyberdramon crouched and leapt into the sky, his wings unfolding as he cleared the tree line. As Chris watched the pair fly off with his friends digimon Jeri walked up to him with a battered Leomon by her side and presented to him Ryan's digivice.

"Your friend dropped this," she said tenderly. "You should hold onto it until you get a chance to see him again." Chris was about to thank the girl when he took a look at the digivice. Chris gasped and almost dropped it as though it had just become scorching hot. Jeri looked at him worriedly. "Is everything alright?" She asked.

Chris gulped. No, everything was not 'alright'. Ryan's digivice was now a pure black, trim and all.

_Oh, man…_ he thought, feeling his heart take a nosedive into his stomach.

* * *


	6. Getting to Know You

Disclaimer: And again, I don't own digimon.

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter 5: Getting to Know You…

In another place, far removed from the worlds of the Tamers and the Digimon, in a land of ice and snow, a power is gathering. It is strong now, powerful; but more time is needed before it is ready to strike. So for now, it watches, it waits, as it has for countless millennia before the rise of the digital world. But… and this is a big but… it is becoming impatient. Things aren't what they had once been. The arrival of the digital world, the bastard of human ingenuity and imagination, had greatly upset things in more ways than one. Plans that had been laid had to be scrubbed and new ones made to replace them. Events were now being rushed to their conclusion before the great powers were even ready. The forces behind them could not afford to be impatient despite the circumstances. They had to be careful; so they continued to watch and wait, preparing for the day when their will would be made a reality across the worlds.

Waiting for the Day of Manifest…

_Interesting. Very interesting._ The shadowed figure watched the scene play out before him again, carefully noting each child's reaction, but paying special attention to one in particular. As the scene shifted to the appearance of a massive, dark-colored reptile a thought played through the figure's mind. _I would much rather that it had been the Raven child, a pity that the opportunity wasn't available. _The scene shifted onto the black saurian again, pausing as the figure took a moment to look into its cold, yellow eyes._ Perhaps this will make up for it. It was sheer luck that one of my agents stumbled across those two. I have never been closer before them. Soon, very soon, we shall have life again; life that will overshadow those pretenders that call themselves _SovereignsThe shadows shifted, as though they were agitated by something. _I hadn't expected those other digimon to follow them to the other side. I'm surprised that Loki is even aware of their presence; usually he's concerned with the activities of the Aesir. Perhaps they have something to do with this…_He did not like where this train of thought was headed. _If they are truly aware of the Keepers, aware of their location they will come for them. Their interference would mean danger for my own plans but perhaps there is a way that I can use this to my advantage and still obtain the Keys before Loki or the Aesir do._ The figure took a moment to ponder on this before resuming watching the scene that he had obtained from his agent. He wondered about the allies that the Keepers had made in so short a time, but only briefly. They were inconsequential in the long term and had little to do with his plans. Surely nothing to be concerned about, but still, one should never underestimate the opposition.

_Perhaps I should send one of my more _Advanced _servants to claim my prize. It would certainly grant me some amusement._

Turning, the dark figure melted into the shadows, the scene he had been studying now frozen on the image of a boy, his face clenched and flushed, his hand gripping a dark-colored device hard to the point where his knuckles were white.

* * *

_I'm off to see the wizard…_Chris thought lamely. The Tamers had told him a little bit about Hypnos and its head, Yamaki, and his mind was just brimming with ideas. He had the feeling that if anyone could help him and Ryan with their problems it would most likely be the strange and mysterious agency known as Hypnos. Thinking of Ryan though brought him down again. He wondered how he was, and how he was going to react when he woke up again. He had looked pretty bad when Rapidmon whisked him away to the hospital. What was it called again? Saint… 

"Hey," said Jeri, looking over at him. "Are you alright?"

"Hmmm?" Chris blinked. His mind had been wandering a little too far off the map again. "Oh. I'm fine. I'm just worried about Ryan; I mean what happened earlier was pretty sudden. I can only imagine what seeing his friend turning into a bloodthirsty monster has done to him. I just wish I knew why it happened…"

"Hey, don't worry," said Takato from next to Jeri. "We'll get this all figured out once Yamaki picks your friend up from St. Jude's…"

Chris frowned, now remembering the name and not feeling very comforted by it. "Isn't St. Jude the Patron of 'Lost Causes'?"

Takato's mind almost froze in its tracks. "Uuuh…"

Kazu snickered and looked over at Henry. "You really know how to pick them, don't you?"

Henry decided that now was as good a time as any to change the subject. "Just what was it that happened back there?"

"Which one?" Asked Chris. "Quite a lot happened in that fight."

"You could start with BlackTerradramon," said Rika. "Or better yet, finish what you guys were telling us earlier 'cause I'm sure that it's related."

"Could the _black digivice_ be connected too?" Asked Kenta tentatively.

"Aaaugh! Of course it's connected!" Exploded Kazu. "Why wouldn't it be? In case you didn't notice earlier, it's a darker shade of black than it was when these guys got here!"

"Wow. Kazu actually makes a good point."

"Can it, Rika!"

Chris rolled his eyes as they walked down the streets, taking a more roundabout route to the place that the Tamers said was the headquarters of Hypnos. They had received numerous looks from the bystanders around them, but no one commented on the strange creatures that walked side by side with the children. Chris had to wonder what kind of adventures these kids had that made people so accepting of the presence of digimon in their lives. It just wasn't the sort of reaction he would've expected since returning to the real world.

Chris found it almost unnerving.

Chris continued to narrate the story from where he and Ryan had left off, pausing every so often to complain to Caramon about tightening his tails death grip on his arm whenever he came to a tense part.

"So anyway," said Chris as he gave his partner what had to be the tenth death glare of the day. "Once the digimon was down Ryan walked up to it. Don't ask why; maybe because of the fact that it was helpless and slowly deleting he thought that it was safe to do that. In either case, he looked it in the eye and," he paused. "Do you guys remember that shadowy thing that separated itself from Apemon when it was being destroyed?" There were nods and a few affirmatives. "Okay then. The digimon vanished, but the 'black thing' that was left over didn't pull a disappearing act like what we saw earlier. It kind of hovered there for a moment and then lunged at Ryan. There was a bright light and then Richoemon screamed." Chris paused to take a breath.

"And then?" Prompted Jeri.

Chris shrugged. "Not much to say, at least for a while. Ryan and Richoemon were both out of it, though Richoemon did wake up after about a day's time acting almost the same as ever, except for being a little exhausted. Ryan remained K.O.'d for the better part of a week, muttering something about _Manifestation_ all the while." Leomon looked at Chris as he said this, but did not comment on it.

Henry rubbed his chin in thought. "Did he say anything about what this _Manifestation_ was after he woke up?"

Chris shook his head. "Nope. Not even when I questioned him about it. His memories were shot full of more holes than Swiss cheese. It was a couple days before he even remembered his own name, never mind mine and Richoemon's."

"So what about 'Tony the Tiger'?" Asked Rika. "You still haven't explained his story, or the digivices color." The others nodded.

"Both Richoemon and Ryan's digivice seemed fine at first, though somewhere down the line his digivice picked up a dark metallic sheen to its otherwise green color," the Tamers raised eyebrows at this. "Then we got attacked by that Azuredramon we told you about earlier. Like we said, there didn't seem to be any reason for his attacking us, he just flew in and started blasting away. We were already a little bit on edge because of what happened to Ryan, and Ryan was a bit more wiry than the rest of us. He…well, he lost it."

Henry's, Rika's, and Jeri's eyes fell on Takato, who listened carefully with a sad look on his face. He knew all to well the consequences of losing control of yourself when it came to digimon, no one better. Chris continued as they rounded a corner.

"To say that we were in trouble is an understatement. What Richoemon turned into was monstrously powerful, and it didn't play favorites either. After it deleted Azuredramon it turned around and proceeded to flatten both Leomon and Metal Dracaramon without breaking so much as a sweat." Jeri's hand crept into Leomon's massive one and gave it a comforting squeeze. Leomon looked down at his Tamer and gave her a comforting smile. Chris continued. "The only reason that we're still breathing is because Ryan managed to get Richoemon to reverse-digivolve."

Kenta pushed up his glasses. "How'd he manage that?"

"We think that there may be some kind of safeguard built into our digivices whenever the digimon that it's keyed to becomes a danger to its partner. Essentially, Ryan threw himself in front of Richoemon as he was about to make his attack."

That got everyone's attention. To a man the Tamers froze in mid-step and looked at Chris, who walked on a little bit further before realizing that the others had stopped moving. Seeing the looks on their faces, Chris immediately regretted telling them that little fact.

_Maybe I shouldn't have told them, _he thought.

"Leomon," said Kazu. "Is that true? Did that Ryan kid really…"

Leomon nodded. "Though it was foolhardy of him to try, I must admit that it did get results." Kazu thought on that and nodded in agreement. Seeing as how they were still alive he could hardly argue with that kind of reasoning. Too bad Rika didn't think so.

"Why would that kid try something so…so…unbelievably STUPID?" Rika practically hurled that last word at Chris, making him fall back a step. Caramon made a lighthearted attempt at diffusing her temper.

"Hey, wise man once said, _if something's stupid, but it works, is it really stupid_?"

For a wonder, Rika didn't have anything to say in response to this, though not for lack of trying. Her face went into a frown as she ground her teeth together, looking for something that would get her point across, and found that she couldn't. This, sadly, did not last long.

"Ya gotta admit, Rika," said Kazu almost smugly. "The little lizard does have a point."

Rika's temper snapped like a dry twig. "SHUT UP, KAZU!" She shouted, glaring menacingly at the visor-wearing boy.

"Rika…" began Takato.

"Don't _Rika _me, Gogglehead! These kids show up out of the blue talking about how they've nearly died so many times, and one of them happens to have a death wish just because his partner freaks out…!"

"Shut…UP!"

Everyone stared dumbfounded at Chris. Even Caramon was a bit slack jawed at his friend's sudden outburst. Chris stood there, his eyes closed and head bowed, his body practically shaking with rage. After a second he breathed deeply, trying to get a hold of himself. Then, when he was sure that he was in control he spoke. "Ryan did what he did because nothing… else… worked. Both Leomon and Metal Dracaramon were down and someone that they saw as their friend was going to kill them, and the Richoemon that we knew was either not there or wasn't listening to us. If you saw your partner about to murder your friends would you have done anything less?" He looked up at Rika, his anger clearly written on his face. "Would you?" He repeated, his voice almost coming out in a whisper. Rika stared back into the boys blue eyes and saw conviction in them. She looked down feeling almost ashamed before looking back up to meet his eyes again. She thought of how Takato had gone up to Megidramon despite the danger to himself. She thought of that time in the parking garage when Gargomon went out of control and nearly killed her, and she thought of all those times with Renamon, before and after she finally came to accept digimon as living creatures. Her gaze softened as her anger faded. She knew that she would do anything for Renamon, even if it meant endangering herself. Hadn't she already proven that when she bio-merged with Renamon for the first time? Why did it get her so angry? She looked over at Jeri and Leomon, remembering some of the things that Jeri had told them about when she had been trapped by D-Reaper. She looked back at Chris, who was still waiting for her answer. Chris, who was expecting to see fury in her eyes, was surprised to see only sympathy and sadness. Quietly, the girl turned and continued on towards Hypnos; Renamon and the others slowly joined her, Takato watching her with worried eyes. He looked over at Jeri who nodded in understanding, and he quickened his pace to catch up with the red haired Tamer. An uncomfortable silence fell among the children.

Chris closed his eyes and breathed shakily. _Holy…! Did I just…was that me? _His thoughts were suddenly broken as Kazu swung an arm around Chris's shoulder, nearly upsetting Caramon's sense of balance as the boy crushed Chris in a hug of camaraderie.

"Nice job dude. You just told off the Digimon Queen and lived to tell the tale! I've never seen anyone do that and not suffer the wrath of Rika! Not even Ryo! You've got spunk kid, I'll give you that."

"Kazu!" Hissed Jeri.

"What? I'm just telling it like it is…"

"Kazu," warned Kenta in a voice that got the boy's attention. "Why don't you just shut up for once?" Kazu sputtered for a moment, but after seeing the glare Kenta was giving him, something that was even more rare than sight of Rika smiling, Kazu did indeed shut up. While the look on Kenta's face didn't carry the threat of impending doom as it so often did with Rika, the storm clouds that could be seen brewing on Kenta's horizon were enough to give anyone pause. Chris was suddenly glad that he wasn't on Kenta's bad side.

Chris walked mechanically as he thought about how he reacted to Rika's outburst. He hated it when he got angry, and hated it worse when it was focused on someone. He used to pride himself as being laid back and easy going, almost like Takato, but he always knew that there was a childlike naivety about his assumption. Something that brought back memories of what his father had taught him about assuming.

"_You do know how to spell assume, don't you?"_ His father would ask him. He would always answer yes, knowing what his father was getting at, and no matter what he still found a way to make an ass out of himself. He guessed that he could see Rika's view of things. He should have been upset too, but the fact that they all came out of the experience alive, though badly shaken kind of distracted him from the issue.

_Open mouth, insert foot, _he thought.

Takato walked next to Rika. He was worried about her, something that he knew she wouldn't appreciate but still couldn't help. He seemed to worry about her a lot lately; ever since the Parasimon invasion she had been…different. Not too different, she was still her usual Rika self but there were times that she was more closed up than usual, though not like the way she had been before she became friends with him and the others it was still a little distressing to see. And if Renamon was aware or worried, she gave no outward sign of it, leaving Takato to do the guesswork on his own.

"Rika?" He asked.

No response.

"Um… Rika?"

"What, Takato?" Her voice carried a hard edge to it that made Takato go all cold inside, but he pressed forward in spite of it.

"Are you alright? I mean, you did just lose your temper with Chris a few minutes ago…"

"Why's it matter to you?" She responded coldly.

"I just…don't like seeing you get upset like that. I worry about you sometimes…" _Oh great. Why not sign your own death warrant, Matsuki? That's the LAST thing she wants from anyone, especially from you!_

He had expected her to be furious, or at least give him the cold, _I'm-annoyed-with-you _look, but she didn't do any of those things. He was surprised to hear her voice actually lose some of its hardness, taking on more of a sad sound to it.

"I never asked you to worry about me," she said.

"I know," Takato said numbly. This response he had been expecting.

"But…thanks anyway."

"Huh?" Now Takato was confused. Or maybe Rika was. He could only look at her dumbly while she continued speaking.

"I know that I shouldn't have blown up on Chris like that. And his 'little lizard' was right; what their friend did worked and that's all that matters. It's just…"

"Just what?" Takato asked softly.

"It's just that it makes me think about some of the things that Jeri told us when she was the D-Reapers prisoner, and even before then when she lost Leomon. She just gave up on herself. Didn't want to exist. Chris talking about how Ryan jumping in front of his digimon like, it just made me think that he had given up. That he didn't want to see his friend slaughter the others because he couldn't do anything about it. That kind of helplessness, that sense of giving up; I've felt it before when Renamon returned to the digital world and I wanted it to end so badly. I hated that feeling so much…"

_Rika…_Takato looked at Rika's face, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. With no thought in his mind except the need to lend some comfort, some strength to a friend, he clasped her hand in his own, feeling her stiffen in surprise. She didn't pull away though. With the others so crowded together and set on heading towards Hypnos, no one noticed this little event.

"Rika," Takato began. "Jeri came out of that all right, and now she's got Leomon back. We all got our digimon back, and Ryan's still around despite what happened to him in the digital world. I don't know him that well, but I just know that he'll pull through. I don't know how I know that, but I do, and that's always been enough. He has his friends with him to help him through this just like you have us. Just…tell me that you'll remember that we'll always be there for you no matter what. You don't have to go through that sort of thing alone; we've got your back."

Rika looked a little uncomfortable, but at the same time she looked as though she were thinking about something hard. "Takato…?" She said quietly.

"Yeah, Rika?"

A pause.

"Nothing. Forget it." And with that she dropped his hand, leaving Takato feeling a bit empty inside. Unconsciously, Rika began rubbing the hand that Takato had held.

"HEY GUYS!" Shouted a familiar, annoying voice. Looking up the Tamers and their digimon saw Rapidmon come flying in for a landing. Takato heard Henry exaggerate a sigh. Takato could sympathize. Having digimon walking down the street with them was one thing; having a large, green, and extremely loud one come flying in announcing its presence and theirs to the world was quite another. As Rapidmon landed he de-digivolved back to Terriermon and walked up to his Tamer, who shook his head in exasperation.

"Terriermon, what have I told you about _tact_?"

"You must have me confused with some other digimon," giggled Terriermon.

"You know what I mean. You couldn't try being a little more subtle?"

"Of course I can be subtle Henry!"

"Yeah, if you can call a cruise missile subtle…" muttered Kazu.

"I heard that!"

"Uh… anyway," said Takato, barging in on the conversation. "How's Ryan?" Terriermon shrugged.

"I don't know for sure. I flew into St. Jude's and had a heck of a time trying to find a doctor that would even talk to me without freaking out. I had to threaten to blow up the waiting room just to get everyone's attention. I swear, the way that they acted you'd think that they thought I was a wild digimon or something."

"Well, I wonder whatever gave them that idea," said Rika sarcastically. Terriermon ignored her.

"Anyway, I stuck around long enough for them to give me a prognosis before deciding to head you guys off at Hypnos. Physically, they say he's fine. He's just unconscious. It's a little to early to tell for sure though."

"Yamaki said that he was sending some agents down here to check up on him," said Henry. "Maybe he'll have more details for us when we get in.

"Yeah, maybe," said Takato.

"After continuing their trek for another ten minutes the Hypnos towers finally came into view. Kenta pointed them out, and Chris regarded them thoughtfully.

"Huh," said Caramon sniffing. "I was expecting it to be sort of taller, or at least a little bit more, I don't know, grand."

Chris ignored him. "So they're really a government agency, huh?"

"Yeah, even Henry's dad works there," said Kazu.

"Really?" Asked Chris surprised.

"Sort of," said Henry sounding a little embarrassed, though Chris couldn't see why. "Before he worked as a programmer, but then some trouble started up with a group of digimon called Devas…"

"Anything to do with this _D-Reaper _thing that I've heard you guys talk about? That sounds like a story worth hearing."

"D-Reaper came later, though I'm surprised that you didn't hear about it. After all, D-Reaper was a global event."

"Musta happened when I was in the digital world."

"Chris?" Said Kenta. "D-Reaper was in the digital world to. In fact, it destroyed most of the digital world before we beat it."

"How long ago was this?"

"Almost a year ago," said Henry. "When did you get transported to the digital world?"

"It was late September in America when I got shipped to the digital world on the digivice express, but I don't know for sure how long I've been gone."

"Hmmm…" thought Henry as he did some quick calculations in his head. "Even so, you should have heard about it, or at least seen it…"

"Well, what'd it look like?" Asked Chris. "Was it anything like that shadow stuff we saw with the Apemon?"

"Nah," interjected Kazu. "More like a big, red blob. Really gross to look at and not very fun either. Even the Sovereigns were scared of it."

Chris blinked at that. He had no idea what the heck the Sovereigns were. He decided to set question number 146 aside for later. _I wonder why Ryan and I never heard about this _D-Reaper _thing before. If the others are right we should have been up to our ears in…whatever it was._ Chris did not feel comfortable with this, but he guessed that he should count his lucky stars that he and Ryan never did run into it. By the sounds of things, it was one really bad mother.

Takato looked over at Jeri. She was being very quiet through all this. Leomon, sensing her discomfort, though not really knowing why this could be, placed a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up at her partner and smiled. Takato turned away with a smile of his own. Whatever else happened, he just knew that Jeri was going to be all right.

He just felt it.

* * *

The group entered through the front doors of Hypnos and was ushered towards an elevator without much trouble, though they had to leave Leomon and Guardromon downstairs due to their weight and size (Leomon promising Jeri that he'd be there waiting for her when she came back). The staff of Hypnos was quite familiar with the Tamers, having 'fought along side them' you could say during the D-Reaper crisis; those that weren't as familiar also knew of them, having either seen the ones that appeared on the television screens during the apocalyptic battle or knew of them by rough description. Besides, a bunch of kids walking into a government building with a number of digital life forms with no one trying to stop them had a way of leaving one heck of an impression. If nothing else, it left no doubt as to the nature of their identities that could be summed up in one word: Tamers. 

As the doors closed and the elevator lifted, Chris began to hum softly to himself. Caramon looked over at him.

"Nervous?" He asked grinning. Chris stopped immediately.

"Caramon, I'd appreciate it if you didn't broadcast my emotions for all the world to he…" Suddenly the elevator jerked to a halt, causing the children to nearly lose their balance and give a shout of surprise. The elevator's lights winked out a second later and were replaced by a green light that shone from the sides and cascaded over the children before turning off. The normal lights turned back on and the elevator ride resumed as though it hadn't been interrupted. Takato looked over at the red haired girl standing next to him as the others readjusted themselves.

"Um…Rika?" The girl turned to look at him and he glanced downward. Her eyes followed his and widened. Her hand held his wrist in a vice-like grip. Blushing, Rika let go and crossed her arms.

"Sorry," she muttered under her breath. Chris and Caramon, the only ones besides Renamon and Guilmon to bear witness to this raised their eyes in silent amusement.

_Ooookaaay…_thought Chris. _I think I'll stay out of this. _Too bad Caramon didn't share his thoughts.

"So," the little lizard began. "When's the w…mmrrgh!" Chris clamped his hand on his partner's mouth, ignoring the strange looks that he was getting from the others. Chris's voice carried a tone that told Caramon that under no circumstances was he to finish that sentence.

"Not…one…word."

_Ooookaaay…_thought Kazu. _That was weird._

The doors opened and the children were greeted by an agent waiting for them outside. He guided them to what appeared to be a blank wall. Rika was about to ask why he had led them there until the wall parted, revealing what looked like a control room.

"Whoa," whispered Takato as he took in the sites and sounds that made up the core of Hypnos, his reaction shared by the other Tamers. Henry Wong looked the place over. Technicians busied themselves with barking orders, replacing circuits, clearing away shattered panels…

"Hey kids." The Tamers turned to see Henry's father, Janyu Wong looking at them with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Dad," said Henry. "What's going on here?"

"We had a little trouble during a recent bio-emergence and now we're trying to get it fixed. No worries." Henry gave the place a once over again. It didn't look like they had a _little trouble_.

"Wonder if it had anything to do with that 'Black Knightmon' and 'Nightmare Blitzmon' we fought earlier," said Kazu. Chris turned to him, his eyes wide.

"Hold it. Did you just say _Black Knightmon _AND _Nightmare Blitzmon_?" Janyu looked at the strange boy, suddenly realizing that he had never seen him before.

_He must be one of those children that Henry told me about last night. I wonder where the other one is? _

Kazu blinked at Chris. "Uh, yeah. Is that important?"

"Dude," said Caramon. "A Black Knightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon were the ones that were chasing us right before we got here. You can check with Leomon and Ryan the next time you see them."

_Leomon? _Thought Janyu.

"It sounds as if our problems are related," said a voice behind them. The Tamers turned to find Yamaki standing at the room's entrance. Walking up to Chris he shook his hand and said, " My name's Yamaki. You must be one of the new Tamers that I've been told about."

"I'm Chris, and this is Caramon," pointing to the lizard perched on his shoulder. "And for the record, I don't know what I am when it comes to digimon," said Chris scratching the back of his head nervously. The man simply nodded.

"For lack of a better term, we'll stick with 'Tamer'. Now why don't you all come with me and tell me what you know about this little development. I'm interested in hearing what you all have to say."

"Okay, sure," Said Chris. "But first, could you tell me how my friends Ryan and Richoemon are doing?"

"Yeah," said Caramon. "And what was up with that lightshow in the elevator? That was really messed up!" Some of the Tamers nodded at this.

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "The _lightshow_, as you call it, is a security precaution; and in regards to your friends I don't have any information on the boy Ryan at this point except that he's resting comfortably. As for the digimon that the Akiyama Tamer dropped off he's causing quite a buzz for some researchers of mine. Perhaps I'll introduce you to them later and have them fill you in on his _condition_."

Unconsciously, Chris's hand crept to Ryan's digivice.

Yamaki stopped at a door and opened it, revealing a plain white room with a table centered in it, surrounded by a number of comfortable looking chairs. One of them swiveled around, revealing a tanned boy with striking blue eyes and dark-colored hair. He gave the Tamers a small smile and Yamaki a curt nod.

"Ugh. What's he doing here?"

Ryo's smile broadened. "Nice to see you too, Wildcat."

"Don't call me Wildcat!"

Ryo sighed inwardly but held onto his smile. He turned his gaze to Chris. "So you going to fill me in on what went down with you and your friend in the digital world now?"

Chris nodded. "Looks like. You want the full version or the edited _Made – for – TV _version?"

"I'll take a risk and go with the full version," said Ryo as the others took their seats. Chris grinned.

"Ok, but I should warn you that there will be no bathroom or snack breaks until the rolling of the credits."

Faintly Chris heard Kazu's whining voice. "Why me-e-e-e…?"

"Heh, maybe I should go now before the curtain ri…"

"AHEM!" The Tamers looked at Yamaki as a screen descended behind him. "Sorry," the head of Hypnos said. "Just clearing my throat."

"Yeah, right," muttered Kazu.

Yamaki clicked off the lights and turned on a projector. An image of Hypnos's tracking system appeared, revealing two distinct signals. Ryo guessed that they were the digimon that bio-emerged earlier.

"As I'm sure that you're all aware, two high level digimon bio-emerged today…"

"Hold on," said Henry. "There were three digimon." There were a number of nods from each of the other children. Yamaki raised an eyebrow.

"Are you certain?" He asked, though he knew that it was stupid to do so. While he may consider the tracking system of Hypnos flawless (compared to his other ventures) these children were the ones on the front lines. They knew what it was they were talking about.

"Of course we're sure," proclaimed Terriermon. "Getting hit in the face by a very large club has a way of speaking realities to a fella you know; unless that is you're telling me that the only thing that got bruised out there was my ego for getting smacked around by an illusion."

"I second that," said Caramon. The two digimon looked at each other and nodded firmly.

"We did fight two digimon not far from here," began Renamon.

"And a third one closer to the park," finished Henry.

"Interesting," said Yamaki. "I'll need whatever information that you have on this third wild one and cross reference it with the most recent bio-emergences that we have in our files."

"If it helps," said Chris. "My digivice stores the stats of a digimon that it scans. Maybe you can use that." Yamaki nodded.

"I'll introduce you to someone who can handle that later, and thank you. For now though, I think you should shed some light on your part in this; earlier you claimed that you were familiar with the two digimon that bio-emerged earlier," Ryo raised an eyebrow and looked over at Chris. This WAS going to be an interesting story.

Chris nodded and brought out his digivice, calling up the newly discovered memory program. An image of a dark-colored version of Knightmon appeared, hovering above his digivice. He showed it to Kazu and Takato, who sat closest to him.

"This one of them?"

Takato was rendered speechless at what must be the biggest coincidence since he had that dream about Rika. He had a feeling that, like the aforementioned dream, this too was no coincidence. _It could be the same digimon, _thought Takato.

"Yeah, that's tall, dark, and ugly all right," said Kazu. Chris switched over to another image. Nightmare Blitzmon.

"And this one too?"

Rika leaned over the table to get a better look. "Yeah," she affirmed. "He was there too. He gave both dino-boy and the mobile dumpster a run for their money."

"Hey!" Cried Kazu indignantly.

_Dino-boy? _Thought Chris confused. _Oh, right. Guilmon._

Yamaki watched, interested now. He had noticed the differences between this boy's digivice and the Tamers. He should see if the boy would be willing to part with it for a while; the Monster Makers would surely have a field day with it.

"Assuming that these are the same digimon," said Ryo. "And because of the timing there's no reason to disbelieve that possibility, what's your connection to them?"

Chris shrugged. "We don't know. The first time we ever met them they attacked us without waiting to be insulted first. I do remember them saying something about _Keepers _though…"

"I do recall one of them, the Nightmare Blitzmon I think, saying something along the lines of that," said Renamon.

"Are you sure?" Asked Kazu. "I was there and I don't remember the word _Keeper _being tossed around."

"Unlike you, I pay attention to my surrounding; especially when I'm in battle," said Renamon in a _matter – of – fact _voice that left no room for argument. Kazu opened his mouth to retort, found he couldn't, closed it, and then looked to Rika.

"Do you believe that, Rika? I mean you were there too…" Kazu stopped at Rika's icy glare. "Oh, yeah. Forgot that you'd back your digimon no matter what. Ah well, maybe she does know what she's talking about…"

"And I do," said Renamon coolly.

"Well I guess that clinches it then," said Chris, interrupting their exchange. "They're the same ones but I don't know why they could be after us."

"Perhaps it was something that happened during your travels in the digital world that prompted their attacking you," said Renamon.

"Yeah. We kind of established that already. The leading theory is the fight we had with Azuredramon."

Renamon was not swayed however. "The only reason you believe that is because it was the only recent event prior to your encounter with them. Perhaps it was something else." Chris looked down and nervously chewed on his lip.

"Maybe…but what?"

"Well, maybe if you clued us in here…" began Rika sarcastically.

"Alright, alright," said Chris a little heatedly. "I can take a hint. I'll start from the beginning since it's the most logical place to start…"

"I should think so," muttered Terriermon. Henry rapped his knuckles on the dog-bunnies head.

"Terriermon…"

"Ow! Henry!"

* * *

The story was a familiar one, though not without its own discrepancies. Chris started off with how Ryan showed him a strange item that resembled a digivice from the Digimon TV show that he claimed emerged from his computer. They had gone over to his house after school let out to check out his computer and for Ryan to give a step-by-step description of what he had been doing at the time. They made it as far as turning on the computer and accessing the Internet before they were almost blinded by a light. There was the sound of electricity popping and sparking and the next thing they knew they had been dumped in the middle of a desert. To the Tamers, this portion of the story seemed right out of the TV show. After that however, the similarities decided to jump ship and swim for shore. 

They had landed in the middle of a desert, with only one digivice, no partners, and no food or water. There was also no sun as far as they could see (the closest thing that they saw that approximately approached a sun was an orb that looked like the earth with a bunch of pink beams coming out of it), but the air was still blazingly hot. They had been far from happy about their situation, and Chris admitted that he had been close to panicking by the sudden change in circumstances. Ryan was no better either, and the two had clashed before the first day was even out. It was because of the digivice. Chris didn't trust it since he was sure that it had brought them here, and Ryan didn't want to get rid of it because he was sure that it could get them home. Being dragged into a strange place with no family or supplies, and only each other for company, combined with the oppressive heat wore on their nerves the same way that skin reacts to rough sandpaper.

Blows were exchanged, and words were said that are best left unsaid.

The sudden onset of night had stopped them from their fighting. Not because of the temperature change but because of the fact that it happened so fast. Like snapping your fingers. It caught their attention faster than having a bucket of ice-cold water thrown in their faces. It was around this time that Ryan's digivice started making beeping noises, and upon bringing it out it revealed a compass function. Without anything better to do they decided to follow it, in the hopes that it could lead them to something akin to shelter, or better yet, a way home.

The next day hadn't been too bad. They had come across a small group of rather large boulders and had spent the day 'chilling', as best they could, in their shade. They did some legwork later that night, feeling their stomachs gnaw away at them. And their mouths were no better.

("_I remember hearing that a person could go a week tops without water if the conditions were right,"_ Chris told them, thinking back on those times. _"The sad part was knowing we weren't going to last that long.")_

The next day had been horrendous. No luck with finding shade, or anything else for that matter. Nothing but sand, sand, and more sand; and the ever-present heat too. It was their constant companion, to say nothing about their own companionship. Ryan and Chris had another fight that day, this time with Ryan starting it over the digivice again (_"Useless piece of junk," _he had called it). Ryan was ready to throw it away and take a run off into the wild-blue yonder and Chris had to chase him down and convince him otherwise, the ordeal leaving both boys crying in the end, but at least they were both ready to continue their endless march. Ryan was silent for the rest of the day.

That night they just collapsed, falling asleep almost immediately and sleeping well past the sunrise. They had to struggle just to get up, and it took some time before they could manage a pace beyond a stagger.

The day was even worse. The heat was bad, very bad. And their bodies cried for food and water; water above all else. The only thing that gave them any relief were those little slips from reality scientists call hallucinations. Chris, who retained something of rationality hadn't taken this as a very good sign and nearly broke down again. Ryan had looked over at him and asked if he was okay, though his question sounded forced. Chris remembered precisely what he had been thinking as he felt tears roll down his cheeks on that day.

('Wasting tears,' _he had thought. _'Wasting liquids…')

(_Chris felt a tear slip onto his lips. Reflexively he licked it and blinked. It was so salty…)_

_(It hits him a second later, though until the day he dies he'll never know why he had thought of it; why he even noticed it. _'Maybe I'm finally losing it…'

_(Ryan was now trying to get his attention, but Chris hasn't noticed yet. He felt a little lightheaded. He thought)_

('I'm not hungry…'_ The realization had a strange way of freeing up his mind. He felt as though he were walking on air, and wondered briefly if this is what _'getting high' _must feel like. A second later he notices that his mouth is producing saliva again. He looked down at the ground, that glaring ground of sand, and spat on it)_

_("Oh, it was beautiful,"_ he told the Tamers._ "And you may think that I'm crazy for thinking so; heck, I certainly thought that I was and I know Ryan thought so too, but never before was I so happy to see that stringy liquid fly from my mouth and darken the sand. Ryan looked at me as though I had lost my mind, and that was when my digivice appeared before us and dropped into my hands. Then one of those pink energy beams—what? Data streams? – Anyway, that was when one of those data streams came by and picked us up, dumping us somewhere else.")_

The place that they had wound up in was by far an improvement. Heaven compared to where they had been. The terrain was mountainous, and difficult to move about in, and there was snow to boot. They didn't complain despite the fact that they weren't dressed for the weather (which wasn't too bad, though a bit chilly). All they could think of was the snow. No, the water! All that frozen water! In a fit of near delirium they stuffed snow in their mouths, bringing relief to their parched mouths. It would be almost twenty minutes before they calmed down, and another ten minutes before Chris thought to remember his discovery that they didn't really need food or water. At the moment though, none of these things mattered, so caught up in the sheer joy of being out of that hell of a desert.

After they had relaxed they pulled out their digivices and activated the compass function. Both of their digivices pointed in the same direction.

Chris touched briefly on the next three or so weeks, as not much had occurred during that time. They had been separated later on by another data stream, and during their time apart they had met their partners Caramon and Richoemon (for Caramon, it started out as a rather awkward partnership because he felt forced into it, while Richoemon was just happy to have company that he could call friends). They had fought other digimon, and digivolved to the Champion level for the first time. Between Caramon's Champion form, another data stream, and a bit of too-good-to-be-true-but-was luck Chris and Caramon practically landed on top of Ryan and Richoemon.

After introductions were made and pleasantries exchanged (which basically consisted of Chris giving Ryan one very thorough noogie) they continued to follow their digivices, their hearts fuller and more at peace than they had ever been since they arrived in the digital world. It was about a week or so later that they had met a Centarumon. He was likeable enough, he had offered them a place to stay, and after hearing about their predicament he told them that he'd guide them to a place that was rumored to be a gateway between the worlds. He himself had tried to use it before, but to know avail, but he knew something of their digivices and believed that they would act as a sort of key that would open the doorway to the real world. It was a long shot, but what the heck! It was the closest that the children had gotten to finding a way home since they discovered the compass function. And besides, the path that Centarumon chose was more or less going in the same direction that the digivices were pointing to, so maybe their destinations were one and the same.

They set off with hope in their hearts and stars in their eyes. The group became more friendly; both humans and digimon trading stories from their lives. They were good times, enjoyable ones. The hours and days gradually lost meaning to them until it became impossible to believe that there had been any other moment besides the one that they existed in.

Then reality intruded.

What was now in some of the Tamers minds the 'Famed Battle with Okuwamon' was the hammer blow that started what could be seen as a downhill slide. Centarumon was deleted trying to defend them; something that had left an impression on the two boys that was both good and bad. Chris told the Tamers of Leomon's sudden appearance and of Richoemon's digivolution to the Ultimate level. He told them of the 'funeral' that they held for Centarumon and how Leomon volunteered to be their escort and guide in his place until they found a way home. He spoke of the encounter with the strange Mammothmon two weeks later (at this Ryo's eyebrows shot up) and Caramon's own digivolution to Ultimate, followed by the shadow form that attacked Ryan, and of Richoemon's corruption in his evolution when Azuredramon attacked. Chris ended it off with the attacks and subsequent chase by Black Knightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon that ended rather apocalyptically at the temple that Centarumon had described to them. Everything else after that everyone pretty much knew or, as in Ryo's case, could guess at. Chris sat back in his chair as the others took in what he had told them and exhaled heavily. That was it. Story told.

Done.

Or was it?

Rika looked at Chris and thought over what he had told them. She knew that he had left something out. Probably wasn't important, but…

"Is that everything?"

Chris looked up at the owner of the voice; it was Rika.

"Yeah, that's everything."

Rika gave a small smile. Takato looked at her carefully. It didn't seem like her. It was as if she knew a secret.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her lavender eyes flashing in amusement. Chris suddenly felt worried.

_What is she…?_ A light turned on in the attic. _Oh, no…_

_Oh, yes, _The girl's eyes told him. Chris was now regretting having mentioned that little 'incident' back at Rika's house. It wasn't anything huge but Ryan had been pretty angry with his – er – 'slip', and if he told anyone else Ryan wouldn't stop at killing him this time. Gathering his courage, Chris looked Rika in the eyes.

"Yeah," he said calmly. "I'm sure." And with that, Rika shrugged. She didn't lose that odd smile though, and Chris didn't lose his anxiety over the question.

_What's going on here? _Thought Takato. Before he could open his mouth to ask what was up, Yamaki's cell phone went off. He answered it and listened carefully before hanging up. Looking at the Tamers he said,

"He's awake."

_Whew, _thought Chris.

* * *

34 


	7. Some Food for Thought

Disclaimer: As you may already know, I don't own Digimon…

DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter 6: Some Food for Thought…

_E1._

Beep! Beep!

Ker-plunk!

"So what do you think of those crazy new Tamers?"

Ryo Akiyama fished out a candy bar from the vending machine and glanced over at Kazu who was leaning casually against the wall. At present, his sidekick, Kenta, was nowhere in sight.

Ryo frowned as he unwrapped his candy bar and bit off a chunk of it. He chewed it over thoughtfully and swallowed before answering.

"Don't know what to think really. What Chris told us sounds pretty fantastic, but there are some things that have me worried, like that part with the Mammothmon. In all the time I've spent in the digital world I've never heard of such a thing." There was also something else that had him thinking, but he didn't want to say anything just yet.

"How did you get back to the real world this time anyway?" Kazu asked. It was a known fact that Ryo had the tendency to disappear into the digital world alone, doing who knows what for brief, or even extended periods of time, though no longer for quite the extent that it had been almost a year ago. Kazu's question brought to mind a memory of someone that he had met during his travels prior to his recent return to the real world. She had been the reason that he was able to get home this time around, but she didn't want him saying anything about her in return for this 'favor' as she called it, and he had agreed. Today though made him wonder if he should say something though. The digivice that she carried was exactly the same as the ones carried by their newest arrivals and he wondered if they were related in some fashion. Well, he'd say something when he thought it was right, maybe to Takato, Henry, and Rika when he caught them alone; but for now…

"Trade secret," was all that he said, grinning.

Kazu threw up his hands in exaspiration and groaned. Stuffing his hands into his pockets he attempted a glare at his idol. It didn't work.

"You know, that could be valuable information to have. At least then we won't have to depend on some crazy Arc to give us a ride when things get rowdy. With these new kids in town with their different digivices, and already some big, bad, digimon hot on their trail we may have to go back to the digital world and give their boss an old-fashioned _digi-pounding_."

Ryo nodded. He had already acknowledged that possibility, but there were still some things that he needed to understand properly before it came to that. It could still be nothing more than a couple of deranged digimon and a heap of bad luck, so there was no point in leaping to conclusions before they knew what they were up against. As near as he could tell there hadn't been anything from what Chris had told them that would explain why those digimon would have attacked them. He didn't think that it had anything to do with the Azuredramon though.

But he WAS sure that it had something to do with what that girl from the digital world had told him, that and the word _Keepers._

_Keepers? Keepers of what? Keepers of digimon?_

Kazu snapped his fingers in front of Ryo's face. "Yo, Ryo. Snap out of it dude. You were off in la-la land."

"Sorry. Guess I wasn't paying attention…"

"That's a surprise."

Ryo's and Kazu's eyes snapped up to see Rika Nonaka standing in front of them. Ryo felt a smile curve on his lips as she looked at them with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hey, Rika. What're you up to?"

"I was thinking about getting a snack from the vending machine here, but I can see that the foods already spoiled."

Ryo laughed. "Nice to see that some things haven't changed since I've been gone. You still trying to take my 'throne' Wildcat?"

Rika glared at him, but a small smile still crossed her lips. "Take it? I already own it Ryo. And don't you forget it. Maybe if you showed up at the tournaments more often…"

"Give me a break Rika," said Kazu snorting. "He's already clobbered you once…"

"Kazu…" Warned Ryo. Rika just waved him off.

"So where's your twin, Tweedle Dumb?"

Kazu blinked. "Eh? Oh, Kenta went to the little boys room I think. Why?"

"Rika shrugged. "Just wondering. It always seems like you two are conjoined at the hips or something. Anyway, I think that I'll try my luck down at Hypnos's mess hall. Maybe they'll have something edible there. See you two later." Rika left the two boys watching her backside until she turned the corner.

"She's a weird one," said Kazu scratching his head. "One minute she's ready to tear our heads off and the next she's chatting with us. She still insults us, but she's nicer about it."

"She's probably just finally warming up to us and just doesn't want to show it," said Ryo as he took another bite out of his candy bar. "She wouldn't want us to think that she's lost her edge or anything."

"Yeah," snickered Kazu. "The world would probably end if she said something nice to any of us."

Ryo couldn't help but smile at the kid. In the time that he had known Kazu, while short and sporadic at best, he had found that the guy could be fun to hang out with; well, once you got past the insanely annoying hero worship that is. Extremely loyal, dense, determined…these were just some of the things that Ryo could use to describe Kazu. Not too bad once you got to know him.

But he could still be so irritating at times…

Kazu stretched and yawned. "Well, I think I'll go check up on Kenta and make sure that he hasn't fallen in. Why don't you go hunt up Henry and Takato? Pick their brains for a bit, 'cause while I hate to admit it, Rika's right. My minds like a black hole. Anything that goes in has absolutely no hope of ever getting out again. Later, Ryo-dude." And with that, Kazu walked off.

Ryo stayed where he was for a moment, thinking things over. It wasn't often that Kazu offered advice, especially good advice, but that was just his surface mind crack wising at his friend's expense. The wiser part of him, the one that had helped make him into the Tamer that he is today, had already considered it and deciding on doing just that. Takato and Henry didn't know anymore than he did as far as he knew, but those two kids were in their company before Ryo even showed up so there was a chance that they might. Besides, their thought could still provide something useful; Henry with his calm and analytical mind often saw things that the others didn't, and Takato… Ryo grinned. Rika had once described him as an '_accident – waiting – happen' _before adding that she didn't necessarily mean that as a 'bad thing'. Well, she didn't say it quite like that but he got the message. Takato had a way of pulling miracles out of thin air, often without knowing what he was doing.

_Maybe I should see Takato first. I think that he went down to the cafeteria with Henry, Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon. Didn't Rika say she was going down there? Maybe I can ask her too._ Ryo thought about that and sighed in defeat. _Probably not. She usually plays her cards close anyway._

Ryo pulled out his D-Arc and checked up on Cyberdramon.

* * *

Leomon walked beside Jeri as they headed down the streets towards St. Jude's. After Yamaki had told them that Ryan was awake Chris wanted, practically demanded to go see him, to which Yamaki had consented and arranged to have an agent give him a lift. Jeri wanted to go to since they had been Leomon's comrades in the digital world, but due to Leomon's size she opted for the longer method of traveling; on foot. Besides, at least this way, she and Leomon could spend some quality time together.

Only Jeri hadn't said a word since they departed Hypnos.

Leomon sensed her discomfort but was unsure how to approach it. It couldn't be because of his death and 'rebirth' could it? She seemed so happy to see him again that she was almost afraid to let him out of her sight. It had to be something else, but what?

Leomon sighed inwardly. He wasn't going to find out by 'beating around the bush' as Chris and Ryan usually put it.

"Jeri?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

Jeri looked up at him and gave him a small, reassuring smile. The thing was, even a blind man could tell that it was fake.

"Sure I'm fine," she said trying to sound cheerful. She raised her right hand and brought her fingers together in a mock imitation of an animal head. She opened its 'mouth' to speak, but before she allowed it to utter a 'word' she stopped. Blushing, Jeri lowered her hand and laughed nervously. She had forgotten that she had left her sock puppet at home.

Since they day Leomon had become Jeri's partner he had been aware of her strange association with sock puppets. While he didn't know much about human psychology he did know that she sometimes retreated to the voice of the sock puppet whenever she felt uncomfortable about something. Not scared, or even hyped up as when she was kidnapped by Orochimon in the digital world or just being in a regular battle, but only when confronted with an uncomfortable situation.

Leomon could understand not wanting to face what you fear directly, but sooner or later the bill came due and on that day you had to pay.

Jeri cast her eyes down at the sidewalk. "Actually," she said, shame creeping into her voice. "No, not really."

Leomon looked at her.

"I know that we've talked about this before, about how you wouldn't want anyone else to be your tamer, because I believe you, but…after you were 'deleted' I…" Jeri sniffed and wiped her eyes, desperately trying to hold back a sob. "I lost faith in myself and in my destiny. I thought that I wasn't worthy of being your partner, and I…I became 'open' to other influences. Because of how I was feeling I made it possible for even worse things to happen. To the world, to my friends…"

_D-Reaper, _thought Leomon. Like Ryan and Chris, he had no idea as to the nature of this entity that the Tamers had labeled the 'D-Reaper', but he had a feeling that it was what Jeri was referring to. _Jeri, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you…_

A part of him though had a feeling that he had been there for her in spirit.

"Jeri, I tell you now as I told you then; you have the heart of a lion. I saw it in you when we first met, and I know that because of you are here today, no matter what it was that happened to you. You are not one to bend or break easily, and death is never an easy thing to accept, but you are strong. Never forget that, for I have not." Leomon chuckled. "After all, I have had first hand experience with that," he said referring to the day that they first met, when the girl had chased him through the park with an uncanny ease in spite of his own attempts to lose her.

Jeri sniffed and wiped away another tear. She giggled a bit, remembering that day also, and looked up at her partner. "I know," she said. "And I believe it too. It's just sometimes hard to think that I'm worthy of it all; of you and of being a Tamer." She stopped and pulled Leomon into a much-needed hug, one that Leomon returned gratefully.

"Awww…" went a little girl as she passed nearby with her mother. "Mommy, isn't that just the sweetest thing you've evaw seen?"

"Yes, dear," said the girl's mother as she dragged her daughter hurriedly past the pair, looking every so often at the massive lion worriedly as if she expected it to start swinging that big sword of his any moment.

Jeri chuckled as she held Leomon. Say what you will, but never before had she felt so safe; so complete.

On Leomon's back, a swirl of golden energy traced its way around his shoulder blades before disappearing.

Neither of them noticed.

* * *

_Well, it looks safe, _thought Takato as he looked at the steaming plate of food before him. He looked over at Henry who seemed to be eating it just fine. Raising some noodles to his mouth, Takato tentatively gave his meal a try. He chewed, he swallowed.

Gulp.

_Actually, it's not that bad. In fact, it's great. Certainly nothing that Guilmon would turn his nose up at, but then he probably wouldn't turn down food of any kind. _Speaking of the red dinosaur, he, Terriermon, and Renamon were in the kitchen making friends with the cafeteria chef. Actually, this relationship had been carrying on for the past two months, having started out at sometime after the Parasimon invasion. They had graduated from being mere 'acquaintances' to the 'official food-testers', starting with Guilmon and Terriermon and eventually working its way down to Renamon who, after much brow beating, eventually sampled some of the chef's delicious cooking. Although she'd never admit it, Renamon considered this her life's one indulgence. Renamon remained modest though and minded her manners, if only to set an example for her two partners, even though Guilmon imitated her poorly and Terriermon mostly ignored her.

Not that the chef minded of course; he enjoyed their company and conversations (he especially prized his intellectual conversations with Renamon. Not something he would have expected from a digital life form, but then he never expected to one day meet a digital life form). He loved Guilmon and his childishness, Renamon and her quiet modesty, and Terriermon wit. And with the little dog-bunny praising his food as though it had come from down the Golden Staircase directly from God's kitchen he felt pleased to no end, even though he had to admit Terriermon did grate on his nerves every once in a while.

Seeing digimon in the kitchen did not frighten the cooking staff or the rest of the Hypnos employees. In fact, they welcomed it. The word of the mess hall was that if the digimon ever turned their noses up at the food, either the chef was having a really bad day and could turn psychotic at any moment or an evil digimon had taken his place and was trying to kill them all in an unconventional way. It got so that it became a joke to say "Chef's still with us" in response to a question as to how his cooking was on any given day.

Takato soon wolfed down his meal and sat back with a content smile on his face. Henry looked at his goggle-wearing friend and laughed lightly.

"I told you this guy was good."

"I'm sorry that I didn't take your advice sooner," said Takato heaving a sigh.

"Don't be. Terriermon worked on me for a whole month before I finally gave in. I used to think that it was just an excuse for him to give me food poisoning."

"Seriously?"

"Between you and me, I wouldn't have put it past him."

The two boys shared a hearty laugh at this, neither of them noticing Rika approaching them with a tray and a raised eyebrow.

"What're you two goof balls laughing about this time?"

Takato and Henry nearly jumped out of their chairs, a reaction that brought a smile to the girls face. It was nice to know that she could still surprise them.

"Hey, Rika," said Takato giving her a lopsided grin. "We were just making fun of Terriermon behind his back. Care for a seat?"

"Don't mind if I do," Rika said as she took a chair next to Takato and set her tray down. "So give me the scoop. Is this stuff really as good as Renamon says it is or will I die from it?"

"What's the matter Rika," asked Takato. "Don't you trust your partner anymore?"

The red haired girl fixed the boy with a glare and he cringed a little, still holding onto his lop sided grin all the while.

"Don't worry Rika," said Henry. "You'll like what this guy can make. It puts Takato's 'Guilmon bread' to shame."

"Like that would be hard to do," muttered Rika.

"HEY!"

"Lay off, Gogglehead. I was just kidding. And by the way, if you guys are joking about how good this stuff is, I'll put you both in full body casts."

"P-Perish the thought," said Henry as Rika took her first bite. Both Henry and Takato crossed their fingers.

A second later. "Not bad. Looks like you guys are off the hook." The two boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well," said Takato getting up. "I'm going back for seconds. I'll be back momentarily."

There followed a short silence between Henry and Rika as their friend walked off.

"So," said Henry casually. "How have things been?"

Rika frowned. "My mother went out with her 'boyfriend' again last night. What do you think?"

Henry nodded. Rika had told him and Takato about her mother's 'catch' one time after a Tamers meeting. By all accounts Rika was all but comparing the poor guy to either Ice Devimon or, even worse in her opinion, Ryo. Henry still didn't know what her deal was with Ryo besides the fact that he had wounded her pride almost three years ago in a digimon card tournament, and Takato couldn't understand why she was so irritated with her mother's choice in boyfriend's period. Of course, Takato could be a little bit dense when it came to things like that.

"Is he really that bad?"

"No," Rika sighed. "Not really. He seems nice enough," she paused as Takato sat back down with a restocked tray. He looked back and forth between his two friends but decided not to say anything. He'd pick it up soon enough but if he were to venture a guess he thought that it had something to do with her mom. This guess was confirmed a second later when Rika resumed.

"He seems nice enough," said Rika as she picked up the thread of conversation again. "It's not like Tom's bad or anything, he's nice to my grandmother, he's courteous to Renamon and doesn't freak out when she appears out of thin air, and he makes mom happy. It's just…"

"I just wish that he didn't try to be…my father." She said this last almost in a whisper. Henry and Takato looked at their trays trying hard not to feel sorry for her. She wouldn't have liked it if they did.

In the time that they had been friends with Rika, the Digimon Queen had always been just a little closed off from them (to say nothing of what she was like when they first met). They had hung out with her plenty of times at her house and they had both noticed that they never once saw her father, which led them to draw the obvious conclusion though they never once brought it up. They lived under the unspoken rule that Rika would tell them when she was ready, and until then they wouldn't cross that line that she had unknowingly drawn in the sand. She eventually did tell them not too long after the Parasimon invasion; well, actually she told Takato first when she had been feeling especially down and Henry happened to walk in on them. It was also the only time he had heard anything mentioned about Rika singing since her birthday party, and in the spirit of that he had kept it just between the three of them.

A silence fell among them that was interrupted by a crash coming from within the kitchen, followed by a number of expletives that included Terriermon's name after every second or third word. Groaning, Henry got up.

"Aaagggghhh. I'll go check it out…"

"Oh. Uh, okay," said Takato. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Takato watched Henry's retreating back for a few seconds as he made his way towards the kitchen.

"Hey, Gogglehead."

"Hmmm? Yeah? What's up, Rika?"

Rika pointed to his still full lunch tray. "You gonna finish that?"

"Huh?" Takato raised an eyebrow.

* * *

_Room 134. Here we go._

(Click)

Chris quietly opened the door and stepped in. On a bed, sitting up and looking pale was the dark-haired, dark green-eyed kid that he had traveled through the digital world with, irritably flipping through the TV channels on the television screen across from him.

"Hey Ryan, how ya doin'?"

Ryan groaned. "You know, back home daytime television may have sucked, but at least I could understand every word they said on it."

Chris took a look at the program he had been watching right before he switched channels again.

"I see English subtitles Ryan."

"Nnnnggh…don't start with me Chris. I've already got a splitting headache and I feel like vomiting on top of that…"

"Why? Did you try the hospital food?"

"Ha. Ha. I think that it started after the fight. By the way, what did happen in that battle? My memories are a little spotty on the subject for some reason."

"I'll tell you later when you're feeling more up to it. I met some people today…"

"Chris…"

Chris sighed. He wished that he had been able to take Caramon with him to help him out on this, but after Terriermon's little 'debut' as Rapidmon earlier, the doctors and nurses were reluctant to even allow the lizard to pass through the doors. Guess he would just have to tough it out on his own.

"How badly do you need to throw up right now?" He asked Ryan. Ryan's eyes narrowed.

"I don't think that I can hold anything down right now, but I'm pretty sure I can handle some 'food for thought'. Why?"

"If you feel that strongly about it, you may want to have a barf bucket handy, just in case."

Ryan eyed Chris strangely before lifting a pan that a nurse had dropped off earlier and set it on his lap. He gave Chris a meaningful look that said, "Please continue". Chris nodded and unclipped Ryan's digivice from his waist and tossed it to him.

"Here, this really oughtta jog your memory."

Ryan looked at his digivice for a minute, the gears in his mind slowly turning. Then his eyes widened as something clicked and his stomach lurched.

The sounds of someone upchucking could be heard from down the hall.

* * *

Ryo entered the messhall to find Henry exiting the kitchen and glaring at a suspiciously red-colored Terriermon, with Rika and Takato doing their best not to laugh at the sight. Ryo raised an eyebrow.

_I think it's best that I don't ask._

"I said I was sorry Henry…"

"Not one word Terriermon! I can't believe that you knocked over that entire pan of sauce!"

_And that's why I don't bother to ask,_ thought Ryo as he came closer.

"I couldn't help it, Henry. It smelled so good and he said I could try some…"

"Since when is _one small taste_ an invitation to stick your head in?!"

Takato and Rika couldn't take it anymore and just burst out laughing, causing Ryo to almost stop in mid-stride. Rika laughing, THAT was a new thing. He grinned as he approached the Tamers and sat down across from Takato.

"Hey guys. What'd I miss?"

"Takato responded between snickers and guffaws. "Only Terriermon's adventure in 'deep sauce diving'. Fortunately you've arrived just in time to catch the second feature."

"Yeah," said Rika smirking. "The Brainiac from 20,000 Fathoms." Henry glared at Rika but couldn't help smirking himself. He had to admit, it was kind of funny.

"Sorry," Henry said. "This one's going to be a private viewing when I get home with him. Susie's going to be spending some quality time with 'Pwincess Pwetty Pants' tonight to make up for this."

Terriermon gasped and made an attempt to get away and failed. Ryo gave the dog-bunny a sympathetic look. He had heard about the torture that Henry's sister put the little digimon through, and even he had to wince from it. Just hearing about it had been painful.

"Better you than me buddy. Better you than me."

"Way to be a team player, Ryo," Terriermon moaned.

"Sorry to cut this short guys," said Henry, still holding onto the little troublemaker. "But I'd better take him home and get him cleaned up before he decides to blow up the building next."

"HEN-RY!"

"Knock it off Terriermon," said Henry sternly. "Or I'll let Susie play with you for an extra hour tonight AND film it for the others to watch!"

This started off yet another round of struggling that Henry easily won. Tucking his partner underneath his arm to quiet his bid for freedom from the horror yet to come, Henry prepared to bid his friends farewell, asking Takato to give him an update on things when he got home.

"Sure thing Henry," said Takato. "See ya later."

"Hang on Henry," said Ryo. "Before you go I wanted to ask you guys something about those other kids. Did they mention anything to you about something called 'the Aesir'?"

Henry cocked an eyebrow and Takato and Rika just looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"No, why?"

"No reason really, just something that I heard about in the digital world. Thought that it was related and you guys might be able to enlighten me. I'll just have to ask Chris or his friend Ryan the next time I see them."

Henry considered this and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what an 'Aesir' was, but maybe he could look into it. "Hmmm…well, I'd better go. See you guys later."

"Later."

Ryo turned back to Takato and Rika who were looking at him thoughtfully. He blinked, fully knowing what it was they wanted to ask, so he prompted them.

"What?"

"Where'd you hear about this… 'Aesir'… thing? And why's it important enough for you to ask us about?" Asked Rika coolly. Ryo shrugged casually.

_I think that I'll tell them, at least a little bit for now. I'll see what comes up later after I've had my 'talk' with those two kids.  
_"From someone I met while I was away in the digital world. Kind of reminded me of you Wildcat, only more talkative than when we met in that place of clouds and clocks."

"Hope that means they insulted you more…"

"Well," Ryo laughed. "She did call me an 'idiot' for leaping to her rescue without really knowing what the situation was…"

" 'She'? Just what is it with you and the whole 'rescuing damsels in distress' routine? It's a very annoying habit."

"Why? Jealous?"

Rika glared at him. "Only in your dreams."

Ryo chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't think that I have to rescue you anymore. After all, you have your very own white knight in shining armor here to do the job for me," he said tipping a wink at Takato. Takato, who had been drinking some Chocolate milk when he heard that, swallowed some of it down the wrong way and sent himself into an embarrassing coughing fit. Rika stopped dead short of anger at Ryo when Takato began coughing and looked at him worriedly.

"Um…you okay, Gogglehead?"

Takato looked at Rika with a flushed face and smiled goofily. He coughed once before responding.

"Uh…yeah. Sure…heh, heh, heh…um…I'll be right back. I…uh… gotta go to the bathroom." And with that Takato got up (nearly knocking over his chair in the process) and went for the exit, trying hard not to make it look like he was trying to get the heck out of Dodge.

_That was weird, _thought Rika. _Wonder why he… HEY!_ Rika's eyes flashed and she looked over to Ryo to fix him with a withering glare that could put a Sovereign to shame, only to find that he had used Takato's distraction to give her the slip. Rika _hmmphed_, debating whether or not she should chase after the Legendary Tamer and smack him upside the head. She looked down at the tray of food that Takato had left behind. She sighed.

_Well, _she thought as she dug in. _It would be a shame to let all this_

* * *

11


	8. Reading Within the Lines

Disclaimer: Much like the Energizer Bunny, this disclaimer keeps going and going. By the way, I don't own the Energizer Bunny either.

DIGITAL MANIFEST

**KEEPERS**

Chapter 7: Reading Within the Lines

"Nnnnngh…"

Chris looked at his friend worriedly. "Under normal circumstances, this would be where either you or Caramon would have said _I told you so_."

"Uuuugh…"

Ryan fell back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. The sudden rush of memories had been just a little too much for him, but at least now the nausea was passing. At least that's what he hoped. He still didn't feel too good in either case, but that didn't matter much to him right now. All he could think about right now was Richoemon. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes.

_Oh Richoemon…Why did this have to happen to us?_

"How is Richoemon?"

Chris looked at Ryan sadly. "I think that's a subject that's definitely _going_ to wait until after you're feeling better."

"Rrrrgh!" Shakily Ryan clicked off the TV, threw back the covers, and swiveled his body around.

"Um… Ryan? What're you doing?"

Ryan lifted himself off the bed and set his feet down on the floor. Still supporting himself on the side of the bed he took a deep breath. His legs were shaking.

"What's it look like I'm doing, Chris? I'm going to see Richoemon. Where're my clothes?"

"I saw them lying on one of the visitor chairs in the corner. Ryan, I don't think you should leave…"

"Too bad. I'm checkin' out."

"Somehow, I don't think that the hospital staff will let a minor, a sick one at that, just 'check himself out'."

"Like I care. Read my lips Chris; 'I want to see Richoemon'."

"Dude, don't make me have to call a nurse. You're in no condition to go anywhere so why don't you rest up a bit and worry about Richoemon later? You deserve it."

Ryan glared at Chris. "You of _all _people should know better than to tell me to 'worry about Richoemon later'…"

"Okay, yeah, that was the wrong thing to say, but if you try to do this you won't even make it out of the room…" Ryan either wasn't listening or didn't care because he let go of his grip on the bed and stood up, only to have his legs give out on him a second later. Chris caught him and helped him back into bed.

"Told you so," said Chris as Ryan finally settled down. "Look, why don't I worry about Richoemon until you done recuperating, huh? I know you're worried, but you're not doing yourself any favors by killing yourself, and I know Richoemon would want you to stay in bed to."

Ryan scowled. "Fine," he said. "You win, but I'm doing this under protest! I'll stick it out here for today, but come tomorrow I'm getting out even if I have to climb out the window and jump into traffic."

Chris smiled. "We'll see." Tomorrow was another day after all and he just about had his fill of today. "You need anything?"

"How about asking one of those 'Hypnos' guys to get me a book? I could use a good read."

"How'd you know about Hypnos? I haven't even gotten around to telling you about my day since you passed out."

"The agents that stopped by to check up on me introduced themselves when I woke up. What? Did you think that they'd just poke their heads in and leave without saying hello?"

"The thought didn't exactly occur to me."

"Thought so. Now about that book…"

"We're in Japan dude. You can't read Japanese."

"How come you always gotta rain on my parade?"

"Because someone has to. Man, you are a cranky one today."

Ryan snorted. "I feel sick, you won't tell me what happened to my best friend after I passed out, and I'm being held captive in a hospital against my will, so I've got reason to be. Speaking of which, whose bright idea was it to take me to St. Jude's? Didn't you tell me once that St. Jude represented 'Lost Causes' or something like that?"

Chris tried to grin but failed. "Close enough. Anyway, while you were out I brought the Tamers up to speed on our 'activities' in the digital world. Renamon thinks that it was something other than that Azuredramon that we ran into that prompted those other digimon to attack us."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Hang on. When you 'brought them up to speed', what exactly did you tell them?"

"Er, eh, oh hey! Speaking of which, I thought that you might like to know that those two digimon that Takato and the others fought were the same ones that were after us. Weird, huh?"

"Chris…"

Chris sighed. "No, I didn't tell them about 'that'. Jeez Ryan, I'm not that dense."

"You told Rika."

"Not really. She just happened to be in the same room when I mentioned it."

"There's a difference?"

"You know, I really don't know what your deal is. Any other mon would've been flattered from the sort of attention you were getting from Sukamon and Chuumon. Especially Chuumon. I mean, after she…"

"CHRIS!" Ryan shouted before a wave of nausea seized him. Once it passed Chris clapped his friend on the back and laughed lightly.

"Nice to see that you've kept some of your humor. I've got a feeling that you're going to need it."

"Rrrrgh… I swear Chris, you are so going to die tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." There was a knock at the door and the two boys noticed a man in a suit at the room's entrance. Chris sighed It was one of the agents that accompanied him to the hospital. "Look, I gotta go. Yamaki only let me come down here to check up on you for my peace of mind, but he wants me back so that we can go over some stuff. He thinks that what we went through in the digital world could be responsible for what ever caused Hypnos's equipment to get fried. Maybe I can get him to find us a place to stay until we can go home. Hmmm… going to have to ask Yamaki if he can spring us some plane tickets for a trip back to America…"

"Who's Yamaki?"

"Hmmm? The agents didn't tell you? He's the head of Hypnos."

"Oh. Hey where's Caramon? I'm surprised that he's not with you."

Chris made a face. "Hospital wardens wouldn't let him past the waiting room. Had something to do with that Terriermon of Henry's when he dropped you off."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Do I even want to know?"

Chris smiled. "Guess that depends on how closely you listen to the gossip. I gotta go now and get some things sorted out. I'll try and stop by later to see you again before I turn in. And by the way, Leomon and Jeri are on their way here, though I highly doubt that Leomon will be able to get in unless Jeri's very good at persuasion. Either that or Leomon decides to threaten people with that sword of his, which ever one they decide to go with first I guess…"

"Most likely the persuasion part. I don't think that Leomon would threaten people just so he can see if I'm alright."

"Meh, you never know. Anyway, I'll see you later."

Ryan waved goodbye and turned his attention to the window, not even hearing the door click shut. He sighed. As right as he knew Chris was about the necessity of him staying put, he really didn't want to stick around. He wanted out. The place was to sterile, to cold and devoid of human closeness for him to feel comfortable in. Probably because in places like this, despite the presence of people who cared enough about sick people to work here, those who ended up here were more like a statistic. Roll 'em in, roll 'em out, either healthy or in a body bag. But this wasn't his main concern. Ryan's deal with hospitals was nothing serious, just little more than a feeling that was so much background clutter that he could easily push away. He was more concerned about Richoemon than his own discomfort. Ryan turned his gaze onto his now all-black digivice and visibly shivered as the memory of Black Terradramon's cold gaze played in his mind's eye. He still couldn't believe that had happened, and not only that, but that it had gotten worse. Before he used to think that he had only Richoemon's digivolving to ultimate to worry about. _What do I do if everything about Richoemon ends up like that? He'll be just as much a danger to us as those digimon that we fought earlier._ Ryan thought about that last bit and cursed a second later. He had forgotten about what Chris had told him about Black Nightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon having followed them to the real world. _Too caught up in my own worries_. He flopped back onto the bed and groaned, not liking this development at all.

* * *

Chris made it down to the first floor with the agent and picked up Caramon from the waiting room, thanking the nurse that had detailed to watch him and make sure that he didn't do anything 'rash' (she in turn thanked Chris, as she had found the experience more fun than dangerous, to her own relief). As he exited the building he found the agent's car waiting for him and he walked towards it. He didn't make it very far however as a familiar yellow figure materialized in front of him, making him jump back and land on his rear, dropping a startled Caramon onto the ground.

"GAAAH! RENAMON!"

Renamon chuckled. "Sorry. Didn't mean to frighten you." Chris grumbled as he stood back up.

"You know, we've only known each other for about a day and already you're having fun at my expense. Tell me, do you do this to the regular Tamers or is this how you initiate newbies?"

Renamon just looked at him. Chris sighed.

"You know," said Caramon. "If this is initiation, I'm sure getting paddled by a piece of wood would be easier than having a near heart attack."

"CARAMON!"

Renamon held back a sigh of her own. These two almost reminded her of Henry and Terriermon.

Chris returned his gaze to Renamon. "So, since you're here, where're Rika and the others?"

"They're still at Hypnos, though Henry had to take Terriermon home to 'take care of something'." She saw no need to tell the two about the rabbit's latest adventure. He'd find out soon enough on his own no doubt. Chris took Renamon's explanation at face value.

"Okay. Does Rika know that you're here?"

"Not here, specifically," Renamon said. "But she does know that I'm out. I just happened to be passing by and thought that I'd check in on your friend. How is he?"

"Grumpy. Practically tripping over himself just trying to get out of bed and he's hurling chunks on top of that." He stopped and looked at Renamon for a moment. "Sorry if that's a little too much information."

"Not at all. Did you say that he _tripped _trying to get up?"

Chris scowled. "He's not feeling up to par right now, but he's too stubborn to admit it. But that does make me think of something. Since you're here could you do me a favor and make sure that he doesn't try to leave the hospital today? I know that's a lot to ask from someone that I barely know, but I can't keep an eye on him right now and I have a feeling that he just might decide to do something stupid."

"Well…" Renamon had been out looking for someone who might want to know that Leomon was back among the living, but…_I suppose that he can wait a little longer though._

"If you're certain that it's necessary."

"Hey, maybe I'm wrong. I'd like to give Ryan the benefit of the doubt, but I know him. He can be stubborn at times and he really wants to see Richoemon…"

"Then why stop him?"

"Renamon, the way he is right now you could knock him over just by sneezing on him. That may be mean, but when I saw him he could barely walk, let alone stand."

"Then perhaps you have nothing to worry about."

"Actually," said Chris. "That's precisely why I'm worried."

Renamon cocked her head to one side, apparently wanting Chris to clarify this reasoning.

"Just trust me on this, okay? I know Ryan; he's not going to want to stay on bed rest if there's something big going on, especially since it involves him and his partner. Right now he wouldn't be doing himself any favors by trying to get around. So will you, please, watch over him for me?"

Renamon looked as though she were giving this request some serious thought before finally nodding. Chris exhaled.

"Thanks Renamon. I owe you one. By the way, the hospital staff is going to be edgy about having digimon trying to get in to see him…"

Renamon gave a light laugh. After Rapidmon's little misadventure that didn't surprise her much. It made her wonder what the reaction would be when Leomon showed up, if he hasn't already. "Don't worry Chris, I'll keep an eye out, and I won't be seen." Chris nodded.

"Okay; his room number's 134. Now I gotta go back down to Hypnos and check up on Richoemon, see what's up with him. I'll see you later. And…um…Renamon?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks. I really appreciate this."

Renamon nodded and watched as Chris scooped up Caramon and join the Hypnos agents in their car. Once the door slammed closed Renamon leapt into the air and vanished.

* * *

Takato splashed water onto his face as he leaned over the sink. _Man, what the heck is Ryo trying to do? Kill me? _He thought sardonically thinking back over what the Legendary Tamer had said about him being _Rika's White Night._ Frankly he was surprised that the hotheaded Tamer hadn't tried to kill Ryo for saying that. Rika wasn't a big fan of fairy-tales, and despised being associated with them in any way, shape, or form. Pretty ironic considering that Ryo was referring to the incident with Parasimon, in which Rika wound up in the role of _damsel in distress_ and Takato of all people as the _knight in shining armor_ that rescued her. And she had never once threatened him on the matter since. To be honest, Takato didn't know which was more distressing; that Rika had actually needed saving that time or that she hadn't tried pummeling him for rescuing her.

Yup. Without a doubt the world moved in mysterious ways.

The bathroom door opened and in walked Ryo with a sympathetic smirk on his face. "Heh. Still hiding out in here, huh? Sorry about pulling that on you earlier, but I just couldn't resist."

Takato groaned. "Did you have to do that? The way she gets sometimes I'd almost rather face D-Reaper again then the Digimon Queen when she's on the warpath. At least with D-Reaper I know that I'd have an even chance at getting out alive."

"Look on the bright side Takato, at least you got away in one piece."

"Great. So I'm only putting off the inevitable."

"You know, you really shouldn't be complaining. After all, you're not the one who makes her angry."

"It doesn't help if I get caught in the crossfire. Why do you always do that with Rika anyways? Most people have more common sense than to cross her, probably because they know that there are a lot less painful ways to die."

Ryo laughed. "Yeah, I know, but it's just so fun getting a rise out of her. She gets cute when she's angry, but I don't think that she'd appreciate hearing that from me."

Takato shrugged. "I don't think that she'd like hearing that period, especially since it involves the word _cute_. But I don't think that you came here just to apologize about almost getting me beat up."

"Well, I do need a place to hide from her until she cools off…"

Takato blinked. "Never thought I'd see the day that the Legendary Tamer would actually flee from danger."

"Hey, I may be brave, but I'm not stupid."

"Um…somehow I think that you've chosen a bad place to hide in. I mean there is only one exit."

Ryo had to chuckle at that. _Come to think of it, a men's room sign probably would make a poor shield when it comes to the temper mental Digimon Queen._ _And Rika says he's dense…_

"Anyway," said Takato. "What was up with that question you asked us back in the mess hall, about the whole _Aesir _thing? I know you said that you heard about it from someone in the digital world, but why did you think that it was important enough to bring up? And who was it that told you about it?"

Ryo thought about it for a second, debating just how much to tell. "When those kids first showed up, did they mention anything about a girl named_ Raven_?

"Raven? That's a weird name for a person to have. But no, I don't think they said anything about anyone named Raven. Rika might know since she had them stay at her house last night, but I kinda doubt it. Why? Is it important?"

"Probably. She had the same kind of digivice that Ryan and Chris have."

"Hmmm…I sometimes wonder if they're like some kind of digi-destined or something. Maybe we should ask Chris when he gets back. Hey! How come you didn't mention this back at the meeting?"

"I wanted to think about it for a bit before I brought it up. Besides, even though they seem like good kids, you can never know for sure. I wanted to see if they told you guys anything that they might have left out at the meeting."

Takato thought about what Rika had asked Chris after he had finished his story but didn't bring it up. If she thought it was important she'd tell them about it. Until then… "Don't you trust anyone, Ryo?"

Ryo looked at the goggle-wearing Tamer with sad eyes. "Only so far Takato, and that's from experience. I just don't know those kids well enough to put blind trust in them. I'm sorry, but that's how I feel." Takato looked at Ryo for a second, digesting what he just said.

"What did happen to you in the digital world? You never talk about it."

Ryo didn't show it, but he was touched by this question. It was one thing that he liked about Takato; he was always concerned for others. You could tell him your problems and be sure that he would listen and keep it in confidence. Ryo didn't think that there were many people out there like that. He almost wanted to tell him, but instinct and habit were to deeply ingrained in him for that.

"Sorry, Takato. Maybe someday I'll tell you, but not now." Takato nodded in understanding. That was another thing that Ryo liked about him. As much as he wanted to help, he never pushed things if a person was unwilling.

There was a brief period of silence between them. One that Takato interrupted.

"So," he said coughing politely. "What about this _Raven_ character? Would you rather talk about that?"

"Heh. Maybe. I want to give it some more thought though. It was kind of weird how I met her. Her and that druid guy she was with." Takato raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry. Look, I know that you want to hear what I have to say, and I'm thinking that I should say something, but I want to do some more checking around first, especially with Ryan and Chris. Hmmm…you said Rika let them stay at her house last night? Maybe I should see what she knows."

Takato winced. "Um…maybe you should let me do that. The way you get her going I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to kill you. The last thing we need is a fatality on the team, especially an important member of it."

"So you're going to throw yourself into the jaws of the tiger in my place? I'm touched Takato. You really are the self-sacrificing hero that everyone makes you out to be. No wonder why they all look up to you."

Takato scratched the back of his head and looked away nervously. "I was only saying…"

"Hey, I understand. And believe me, I meant what I said. It may not look it, but the others do respect you. Even Rika, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish. You could say I'm an authority on that."

Takato gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that…"

Ryo grinned. "If Kazu and Kenta were here they'd say _'of course he's right'_ and they'd believe it to."

"Ha! That's because it'd be coming from you. If it was anyone else they'd think they were, to quote Kazu, _'crazier than a tuna fish sandwich!'_"

Ryo laughed and clapped Takato on the shoulder. "You're a good guy Takato. Just don't let it go to your head. Now, why don't you go hunt down that Wildcat Rika, huh? I could use some alone time here."

"I did not need to know that."

* * *

Henry unlocked the door to his home and stepped inside. One of the perks to having his dad working at Hypnos was that every now and then Janyu would have an agent provide transportation for his son or the other Tamers when they were at Hypnos. Yamaki wasn't always happy with it because he considered every one of his employees too valuable to be detailed to the duty of _car pool_ but as the Tamers were also valued members, _unofficially_ that is, of Hypnos he was willing to look the other way. And if anyone had a complaint, they didn't voice it.

Henry closed the door to an empty apartment. He wasn't too surprised by this. His mother was out and so were his two older siblings, and Susie was off at a friend's house on a _play date _(though she had protested vehemently against calling it such a thing). Wasting no time, Henry stepped into the bathroom, set Terriermon on the toilet, and got the bathwater going. As he waited for the water to get warm Henry looked over at his partner and sighed. He had tried to get the worst of the mess out of Terriermon's fur while he was waiting for his ride, but it hadn't helped much. All he did really was muss it up.

"Terriermon, what am I going to do with you?"

The dog-bunny grinned sheepishly. "Admit it Henry. Without me your life would be boring."

"I'll concede that point. Before you came along I never had to worry about live digimon plotting to destroy the world. I just wish that you didn't have to add the Hypnos chef to that already very long list."

"Momentai Henry. If worst comes to worst, I'll just test all his food before anyone else gets it just to be on the safe side. Though I can't promise that Guilmon will be too happy about it."

"Terriermon…"

"Henry? Do you realize that a fair amount of our conversations involve me doing most of the talking with you interrupting every now and than just by saying my name? And that you usually sound irritated saying it?"

"That's because you're usually the source of that irritation, Terriermon."

"Oh. And here I was hoping we could expand on your vocabulary base…"

"Rrrrgh…Just get in the tub."

Henry picked up the long-eared digimon and plopped him into the shallow water before turning off the bathwater.

"YOUCH! HENRY! THAT'S HOT! I just know that I'm going to get all pruny because of this!"

"Terriermon, you've taken plenty of baths and I've never once seen you get _pruny_. Now here," he said handing Terriermon a washcloth. "And be thorough about it."

"Do you want me to clean my ears too, Henry?"

"As big as those ears are we'd both be an old man and mon by the time you got done."

"Hey!"

"Better get started," said Henry. Grumbling, Terriermon did just that. Henry looked at his partner as he splashed about. "Hey Terriermon. Back in the fight with that Apemon did you feel anything…strange happen to you?"

Terriermon gave Henry an odd look. "You mean getting beaten on by that poor excuse of a mon-key wasn't strange enough?"

"Terriermon…"

"See? There you go again! We do need to expand you vocabulary…"

"I'm serious Terriermon! For a second in that fight I thought I saw one of your arms destabilize. And then when you fired those rockets at him as Rapidmon…There's just something very odd about what happened today, and what happened with Ryan's digimon just muddles the waters even more."

Terriermon continued scrubbing at his ears, though now in a mechanical fashion as he thought over what his Tamer had said.

"You're right, Henry," said Terriermon finally. "It was weird. In that fight I felt a strange tingling feeling whenever I got too close to Apemon, like something was working on me, and it was taking a lot just to keep things together. It wasn't exactly bad at first, but after a while it kind of started to feel painful." Henry looked at his partner sadly as the digimon continued scrubbing away.

"Terriermon? What have we gotten ourselves into?" Terriermon forced a giggle.

"The same thing we get into every night, Pinky. Trying to save the world!"

Henry sighed in exasperation. "I've said it before and I'll say it again; you are incorrigible."

* * *

Jeri walked through the halls of St. Jude's ignoring the stares and the usual feelings of discomfort that usually accompanied her treks to hospitals. Leomon strode beside her feeling a mixture of pride and anxiety directed at his Tamer. Pride in the fact that he was once again confirmed in his belief that his partner had the heart of a lion, and anxiety at how that heart could manifest at times. He almost pitied that poor doctor who had tried to halt their progress, almost, but not quite. He had a hand in things too of course; after all, what kind of partner would he be if he didn't back his Tamer? The doctor in question had told the girl that under no circumstances was she to bring the massive lion warrior inside with her. Jeri, a normally understanding girl, had told him that _Mr. Leomon_ was a friend of one of the hospitals patients and that they had come to see him. When the M.D. still refused Leomon access the girl turned a withering gaze on him.

The girl had been miffed. No question about it.

"The nerve of some people," growled Jeri. Had Leomon been a lesser mon he surely would have missed a step. For a second there Jeri did sound like an angry lioness.

"I'm sure that he was only doing what he thought was right," said Leomon. Jeri huffed in frustration.

"That Terriermon…" All right. Sure, in the end both she and Leomon were let through, but did that rabbit have to make things difficult for them to do that? Oh well, she could understand his reasons for it and Terriermon did mean well after all.

They stopped in front of room 134 that, according to the nurse in the waiting room, was Ryan's room. Jeri opened the door and they stepped inside (Leomon having to stoop and turn his body to the side just to squeeze through the door). They came up to the bed where Ryan lay. His eyes were closed and he was breathing lightly, and he had an almost peaceful look about him that had been absent the last time that they had seen him.

"Do you think that he's asleep?" Asked Jeri.

"No, he's not asleep," said Ryan with his eyes still closed. Jeri almost jumped in surprise. Ryan opened his eyes and looked at her. "Thanks for asking though." He shifted his gaze over to the girl's partner and a small smile bloomed on his face.

"Hey Leomon. Chris said that you and…Jeri right?" Jeri nodded. "Chris said that you two would be stopping by, though I'm surprised to see you here big guy. Chris told me that the hospital might not let you in."

"Well," said Jeri trying to restrain a giggle and failing. "Mr. Leomon here was able to get those doctors to see the errors of their ways."

"Really?" Asked Ryan eyeing the great lion suspiciously. "And just how, pray tell, did he accomplish that? I imagine Chris might find it handy for his next visit."

"She threatened to have me demolish the waiting room."

"LEOMON!"

Leomon ignored his partner and, looking unflinchingly at Ryan, mouthed what looked to him were the words _lion's heart_. Ryan grinned as he revised his original opinion of the girl. _And here I thought that she was more the _girl next-door_ type. Shows what I know._

"I'm sure she was just bluffing. You wouldn't really have gone all out in here…uh…would you?"

Leomon just closed his eyes and crossed his arms as though he were in silent contemplation.

_Ooookaaay…_ "So, um…how's Richoemon?"

Jeri looked at Ryan in surprise. "Didn't your friend tell you?"

"I was a little… _under the weather_ at the time, so he wasn't as forthcoming as I would have liked."

Jeri's face became downcast. "Well, when last I saw him your partner was unconscious and…um…I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this but he's…changed color."

Ryan was speechless. He didn't quite know how to respond to that except for… "What do you mean by _he's changed color_?"

For some reason Jeri was fiddling around with her right hand, as though she were nervous about something. "He's…he's become gray. He's not orange anymore."

Now Ryan was utterly speechless.

"Ryan? Are you all right?"

Ryan tried to talk, but his mind was all mixed up. _Richoemon…gray colored? How? Why? _An image of BlackTerradramon filled his mind followed by the shadow like form that he saw come off of the Mammothmon that he saw in the digital world. He looked down at the black-colored digivice that he held in his hand. _It's all that stupid shadow's fault…_

"What did you say Ryan? What was that about _shadows?_"

Ryan looked up at Jeri. He hadn't realized that he had said it out loud. "I was just thinking about that incident in the digital world with that Mammothmon. How everything just started to go downhill because of that…whatever it was that attacked me."

"Ahuramon's shadow."

"Huh?" Ryan's attention snapped up at Leomon, suddenly confused. Even Jeri looked surprised at this sudden revelation.

"Ahuramon's shadow," said Leomon calmly. "While I was traveling through the digital world I had heard talk about creatures that had no shape that could possess a digimon. I had never quite believed the tales until we met that Mammothmon."

Ryan looked at Leomon skeptically. "How come you never mentioned this before, like when we first met that thing, or even today when we fought that Apemon?"

"We had other things to worry about, and the information wouldn't have helped us in either case. Besides, you never asked."

"You're right. I didn't. Chris did, and as I recall he was quite vocal about it too." _And while I'm not sure about this, I think I heard you say that you _'didn't know' _in response._

Leomon looked at Ryan without blinking and said, "You are mistaken then. Your memory from that time has not always as it has been." Jeri looked at Leomon, one eyebrow cocked in curiosity as a small flicker of surprise registered on her face. As for Ryan, he knew that Leomon was right about the whole memory issue, as his memory had indeed been spotty ever since his encounter with the strange Mammothmon shadow, but on this he was quite sure. He felt anger rise but he forced himself to bite back a scathing response as a wiser part of him told him that confronting his friend about this now, especially in front of his partner, who would no doubt defend Leomon more than listen to him (he was after all a stranger with an aforementioned memory problem, and Leomon was… well… her partner). Ryan pulled back his anger and decided to let the matter sit on the back burner for a bit until he could find a more appropriate time and have himself, Chris, and Leomon in a private sit-down. He didn't want to rock any boats before he was certain, absolutely certain that something was up.

Ryan shrugged and looked away. "Eh, maybe you're right," said Ryan, hating himself for going along with this charade. Jeri eyed him carefully.

* * *

Takato left the cafeteria and scratched his head in frustration. He hadn't seen Rika when he came back (nor did he see the lunch that he had left behind either, but he wasn't to concerned about that), so he had hung out for a bit, waiting to see if she had gone to the bathroom but after a few minutes he had become restless with doing nothing so he decided to see if he could find Kazu and Kenta. He hadn't seen them in a while and wondered what sort of trouble they were getting into.

_Sometimes I feel like a baby-sitter when it comes to those two, _he thought. _Well, not really, but they can act so immature sometimes. 'Course, they'd say the same thing about me and they'd be right. Maybe I should ask Yamaki or Henry's dad if they've seen them. Actually scratch that. That probably would sound bad saying that I can't keep track of my teammates. _Turning a corner Takato looked down another bland hallway just crawling with closed doors. _Wow, they sure have a lot of rooms here. I wonder what goes on in some of them. We never get the full tour of this place…_

"Hey! Gogglehead!"

Takato turned towards the source of his voice and his eyes met the violet ones of Rika, her head tilted to the side in a questioning manner and her eyebrows raised, hinting at slight annoyance, which indicated that she wanted a quick response. She also carried a medium sized container that you could get down at the mess hall.

"Oh, hey Rika. I was just looking for you…"

Rika walked up to him. "Apparently you weren't looking hard enough, you walked right by me without so much as a hello. Tell me, do you try to be unobservant or does it just come naturally?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking about things."

Rika shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she wasn't really interested in his excuses. She handed him the container that she had. "Here, I saved some of your lunch from earlier when you didn't come back. What took you anyway? You didn't have an _accident_ when you were in the bathroom did you?"

Takato went a bit red in the face. "No, no. It was nothing like that, I was just talking with Ryo about Chris and Ryan and he wanted to know if they had mentioned anything about a person named Raven while they were at your place last night."

"Probably not," said Rika. "They passed out almost as soon as we got there, but then, I wasn't with them 24/7 so I can't say for sure. Why are you asking me this and not Ryo? I thought you said it was his question."

Takato laughed lightly. "Well, it is. I just volunteered to ask it in his place because I thought he might get you angry again."

Rika frowned at the goggle-headed Tamer. "Takato, just because I get annoyed at Ryo's antics doesn't mean that I'm always going to try to hurt him. As a matter of fact…and if you tell anyone about this you'll be getting a one-way ticket to the emergency room…I happen to have some respect for him. Just a little bit though. He can hold his own when it comes to digimon and when it comes to that partner of his I don't think there are many who can handle his situation nearly as well."

"Wow," began Takato jokingly. "Does that mean that you respect Kazu and Kenta too?"

Rika's eyes narrowed in such a way that Takato had to fight the urge to flinch. "Please, don't get me started on those two numbskulls. Kenta's all right but Kazu and that oversized dump truck of his couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. I don't know what the digital world was thinking when it made those two partners."

"See? This is precisely why we all act like we're stepping around broken glass with you."

"Is that why you bailed on me earlier? Because of that stupid comment that Ryo made?"

"No," said Takato starting to feel nervous. "I really…ahem…really had to go to use the bathroom."

Rika crossed her arms. "You're a terrible liar Gogglehead."

"No, I mean it." He did sort of mean it. He needed a safe place to retreat to in case Mt. Rika decided to explode on poor Ryo as he climbed it. Rika just _hmmphed_, not believing him one bit.

"Takato, I'm not going to hurt you just for leaping to my rescue, even if you looked stupid doing it. We're friends, and that means that we look out for each other."

"Wow, and too think that just a year ago you were trying to download Guilmon's data. What was I worried about?"

Rika thought about this for a second before leaning in and lightly, lightly…rapped her knuckles on his head, causing Takato to cry out more in surprise than in pain.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"_That_ was for calling me an _idiot_ back on Locomon! I never got the chance to pay you back for it. Now come on. Let's go find the Doofus Twins. They've been gone way too long for me to feel safe."

Takato complied, rubbing the spot where Rika had hit him. _Girls are so weird,_ he thought.

* * *

15 


	9. The Sea

I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. Got a little caught up in another story of mine that I've been doing for fun as a little side project. Hopefully I'll be able to get back more fully into this story. Anyway, without further ado, I present another installment to Digital Manifest. Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. DIGITAL MANIFEST 

**KEEPERS**

Chapter: 8 "The Sea..."

Ryan looked out the window, watching as the sun began to finish the arc it traced through the sky. Some time had passed since Jeri and Leomon had paid him a visit, and it left him with much to think about. Not that it did him much good; he just didn't have enough information to really make even a halfway decent conjecture about anything.

_I've never even heard of a digimon named Ahuramon._ This was the fifth time that the thought had run its way through his mind. He looked back on his travels through the digital world, and nowhere could he recall any digimon he had met mentioning anything about _Ahuramon's Shadow_, or even alluded to anything remotely similar. All he had to go on were the two encounters with the Apemon and the Mammothmon.

He was sure however, that Leomon had said before that he had no idea what the deal was with Mammothmon.

_Maybe he just didn't put two and two together until later on. I mean, he was worried about me when I was out of it. Probably too worried to think about what had happened._

But if so, why lie about it?

The thought of Leomon lying like that disturbed him. After all this time, fighting side by side there was now a breach in the trust between them.

_Maybe there was a why he lied; something that he didn't want to tell Jeri. Hang on. Did that even make sense? Why would he not want Jeri to know if he told me…that…what…Aaaauuugghh! Now I've lost myself!_

Ryan groaned and turned away from the window and stared at the television set. He had turned it back on after Jeri and Leomon had left, but he hadn't been interested enough to pay any attention to it. He groaned again and changed channels. The one that he had been watching had no subtitles for him to read. Not that it mattered if they did or not. In the end his mind drifted to Richoemon and worry filled his heart. Turning his head back to the window he watched as the sun sunk behind the building across the street. The sky was just starting to turn a lovely golden color. With thoughts of his partner dancing through his head, Ryan made a decision.

Throwing back the covers Ryan set his feet on the ground once more. His legs still trembled slightly, but the quakes that he had been experiencing during Chris's visit had settled down to mild aftershocks. Taking a deep breath he stood up and waited.

Okay, he could stand without the world swimming, and he didn't collapse right away either so that was good news. He still felt weak, but he was sure that he could leave the hospital on his own power. Walking slowly over to the chair that held his clothes, he pulled off the cheap hospital drape and started to get dressed. As he lifted his shirt off the chair, something small and hard hit the ground. Bending over he picked it up. It was a small green stone, chipped and worn in some places, and had a piece of black string tied around it to make a necklace. It was his good luck charm. He had found it while he had been in the digital world, shortly before he met Richoemon. In fact, Richoemon was the only reason that he had kept the thing at all, even though his partner had been confused as to the reasons why. Not that the thing had made much of a difference since that day; the way his luck had been running he probably could've done better by breaking a mirror or walking underneath a ladder.

Ryan scowled. _I probably should trade it in or something. _In the end however Ryan simply slipped it over his neck. Even though he considered luck a childish belief (despite being a child himself), he still preferred the comforting idea of having something that represented good luck to none at all, much like the crucifix that his father wore every day.

After pulling on his T-shirt, Ryan grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, shrugging on the last article of clothing as he did so. As his hand touched the door handle a gust of wind stopped him in his tracks. A second later a cool, measured voice spoke.

"Where do you think you're going?" It asked.

Turning like a schoolboy caught in the act of pulling a prank Ryan forced a smile.

"R-Renamon! Heh! Heh! Um…w…what're you doing here?" Ryan scratched the back of his head nervously, wondering just how she had gotten in without him noticing. The window? Well, it was open just a crack…

"Watching you. Now, again, where were you going?"

"I was…uh…just going to go to the bathroom…"

Renamon's eyes looked over to the door close by to where Ryan's bed lay.

"You're going in the wrong direction," she said dryly.

Ryan stiffened and looked away guiltily. "Yeah, I knew that." Renamon looked at him.

"You were going to see Richoemon weren't you?" Ryan looked up at the vulpine in shock. Either she was more observant than he thought or…well, it was probably a combination of both but still he thought that it was more likely that…

"Chris asked you to make sure that I didn't try and pull a disappearing act, didn't he?"

Renamon looked back unflinchingly. "Perhaps," she replied calmly. Ryan's shoulders sagged.

"All right, I admit, I do want to see Richoemon, and I'm not too keen on just laying around in a hospital waiting for news about him. I want to see what's wrong with him with my own two eyes." Ryan emphasized this by pointing two fingers at his eyes. "Is that so wrong?"

"No," said Renamon. "No, it's not. But you do need to rest."

"I'm feeling much better, Renamon. I can walk without falling over now."

"I promised your friend Chris…"

"What Chris doesn't know won't hurt him."

"You almost sound like Calumon."

Ryan blinked. "Who?"

"Never mind. As much as I can sympathize with your concern for your friend and partner, your health and safety must come first…"

"Why?" Asked Ryan.

Renamon was taken aback by this question. "Why what?"

"Why must it be the human that comes first? Where is it written in the instruction manuel that I can't step up to the plate for my friend? Is it because we make you guys' digivolve? Or is it because we can't cope with the same kind of punishment that you digimon dish out on a regular basis?"

Renamon was silent.

"Look Renamon," Ryan continued. "I'm sorry. I know that you want to uphold your end of things, but I need to see Richoemon. He's done so much for me and I've done so little in return. I thought you of all digimon would understand that partnerships of this nature is a two-way street."

"I do understand," said Renamon.

"So will you _please_ let me go?"

"No."

"Oh, come on Renamon…"

"You didn't let me finish," said Renamon. "I will not let you go on your own. However strong you may think you are now, you still went through an ordeal. I don't know what kind of bond you have with your partner but it's plain that it has taken its toll on you today. I will take you to Hypnos so that you may see your friend, and afterwards, once your curiosity has been satisfied, I will return you here. Is that fair enough?"

Ryan nodded, surprised at Renamon and a bit touched as well. But he still had to know one thing.

"Renamon?"

"Yes?"

"What happens when a nurse comes in and finds that I'm gone?"

A small smile graced Renamon's features.

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there, won't we?"

* * *

"…Amazing. Simply amazing."

Chris snapped to attention at the sound of Janyu's voice. He had been thinking about the brief conversation that he had with Ryo when he got back to Hypnos. Some very strange questions he had asked when he arrived. Questions regarding some person named _Raven_ and something called the _Aesir_. He wasn't too sure about _Raven_ but the _Aesir_ thing sure sounded familiar, but for some reason he hadn't been able to pin it down. Oh well, it didn't matter at the moment, especially since Yamaki had paired Chris up with Janyu, one of the few people that he trusted with this sort of thing that he could immediately reach. Apparently he had wanted to get a hold of some guy named Shibumi, but at the moment was unable to reach him.

"What's amazing?" Chris asked.

"The data storage capacity in your digivice is quite impressive. There is however, something strange about the data code. Don't know what it is yet, but I will given enough time."

"I don't see how that's different from anything else in the digital world. Everything there was strange to me."

"Based on what my son has told me I can agree with you. It's just that I expected your digivice to be similar to the D-Arcs that my son and his friends use."

Chris looked at Janyu questioningly. "Why are they called D-Arcs?"

"That's what my friend Shibumi called them when Henry and Takato met him in the digital world. It's partly because of their ability to store data as in _Noah's Ark_ which he had used as an example, but also because of their shape, which your digivice does resemble."

"I always thought that it resembled a Mjolner symbol."

Janyu arched an eyebrow. "A Mjolner?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah. It's an ancient Norse symbol for Thor, though more specifically it detonates his hammer which is also called _Mjolner_. I came across an image of one when I was doing a report on the Vikings back in school."

"Hmmm. Interesting."

"I'll say. It's kind of what hooked me on ancient mythology in the first place…" Chris stopped, his mouth hung open for a second before closing with a click. Janyu looked at the boy.

"Is everything all right?"

"A thought just occurred to me. Where's Ryo right now?"

"I'm not sure, but if you want I can check."

"Could you please?"

About a minute later, Janyu laid the phone back on its hook. "Ryo's currently staying at Takato's home until his father can pick him up. Do you want to contact him?"

"If it's not too much trouble," said Chris as he picked Caramon up from off of Janyu's computer. Mr. Wong nodded and after a brief consultation with his son Henry for his friend's number soon had the goggle-wearing Tamer on the phone, which he promptly handed over to Chris.

"Takato? This is Chris."

Silence over the phone.

"From the park last night."

"Hey Chris," Takato finally said. "No, I didn't forget about you, I thought that I heard my mom calling me for a second. What's up?"

"Is Ryo still there? He asked me some questions earlier and I think that I can give an answer for one of them."

"Yeah, Ryo's still here, but he's currently keeping an eye on his partner Cyberdramon. Making sure that he doesn't break anything or something like that. Um…hang on for a second."

There was a brief pause.

"Chris?" Asked Takato from his end of the line.

"Yeah?"

"Ryo's dad is going to be a bit late picking him up, and Ryo really doesn't want to leave his partner out of his sight. Seeing as how you'll probably be needing a place to stay tonight why don't you just come down here and you can talk to Ryo here in person? My mom says that it's okay."

Chris blinked. _What is it with these people and giving Ryan and me a place to stay? Next they'll be enrolling us in the same school that they go to. That is, if school's still even on at the moment._

"You still there, Chris?"

The blonde haired boy snapped out of his daze. "Yeah, I'm still here. Um… yeah, that'd be great! Thanks!"

Takato chuckled lightly over the phone. "Great. How soon can you be here?"

"Well…" Chris looked over at Janyu, who was totally absorbed in his own world at the moment. "If no one has any objections here, I suppose I could be there pretty soon. Can't give you an exact time though…"

"That's all right. I'll get things ready on this end, you just bring yourself and Caramon."

"Uh, huh. Okay. Later then." After one last good-bye from Takato, Chris hung up the phone and turned to Janyu.

"Well," he told the adult. "I have a place to stay tonight, and apparently an appointment too. Do you think that Yamaki could let me go now? I don't know what else there is that I could possibly do here."

"There are still some things that I'd like to go over with you about your digivice."

"Like what?"

"Like, how do you activate them? The Tamers have a button and a card reader on their D-Arcs, while yours don't have anything on them except the screen and the coloring."

Chris shrugged. "Don't look at me. All I know is that they work when we needed them to work, and that's been enough for me. Though when Ryan and I were in the digital world, we met a Centarumon who told us that we weren't using them to their full potential or something like that, but he didn't tell us what that potential was."

_Being deleted had a lot to do with that,_ thought Chris sadly.

"Anything else?" Chris asked as he stretched a bit. "No offence, but I wouldn't mind getting out into the fresh air."

Janyu nodded. "Well, both you and your friend have been through quite the ordeal. Tell you what, I can arrange for some transportation to get you to Takato's home since you're unfamiliar with the city. Save you some time."

Chris's eyes brightened. "That'd be great! That is, if it's no trouble of course."

Janyu chuckled. "No trouble at all. We have an agent here who has practically become the Tamer's very own chauffeur. He's gotten quite attached to them it seems. I'm sure that he'll be more than happy to give you a lift."

_Sounds like one big happy family,_ thought Chris. _Wonder how mine's doing? _Chris took a look at his digivice that was still hooked up to the computer (that was something that bugged him. Where did that outlet come from? He had plenty of time looking the thing over in the digital world and he never once saw it or even found anything that hid it. Apparently it was another of the digivice's mysteries).

"You still need that?" Chris asked, pointing to his digivice.

Janyu looked at it. "No," he said. "I suppose not. I have all the data that I need from it, though if I didn't know any better I'd say that it's operating on a different line of code than what I'm used to. I was hoping that I could hold on to it a little bit longer and explore its functions a bit but if you need it…"

"I don't know," said Chris. "I probably won't, but I'd rather not be caught unprepared." _Besides, I've carried it around for so long now that I feel almost naked without it. Heck, I wouldn't even feel the same if Caramon wasn't with me either._

Janyu nodded and unplugged Chris's digivice before handing it over to him. After making a phone call to give the Tamer's Chauffeur a 'heads up' Janyu turned back to the computer screen. Though he had wanted to delve further into the functions of the strange digivice, Yamaki had told him to focus on the information gathered on the digimon that it had scanned. It would take some time to sift through the data to find what he was looking for (despite the strangeness of the overall code, there were still some information that was readily familiar to him based on studies he had conducted on his son's D-Arc). Under other circumstances, Janyu would have seen it as a waste seeing as how they knew so very little of its other capabilities, but priorities came first. If these strange digimon that the others described represented a new wave of enemies attempting to breach into the physical world than they should know as much about them as possible.

After some time, Janyu found the file of the Apemon that had been scanned from this morning, and he began to go over its data patterns.

* * *

* * *

Ryan hopped out of Renamon's arms and steadied himself to make sure that there wouldn't be any last minute surprises that would give the kitsune a reason to change her mind for bringing him here (like throwing up for example). He had been a little disoriented from Renamons _unique_ form of travel.

"You do this sort of thing _every _day?"

"Of course," Renamon said, sounding as though she were a teacher speaking to a slow student.

Ryan sighed. "Well, whatever floats your boat I guess." Pulling out his digivice Ryan activated the scanner program and quickly found his partner's signal. Or at least what he thought was his partner's signal. He still couldn't really tell what any of the signals meant except that one was white and the other was blue, but seeing as how there was only one blue dot in a sea of white inside of Hypnos it was a fair assessment that it could be Richoemon. Looking over his shoulder at the halo screen, Renamon saw the location and picked up Ryan before she phased out of existence.

"Oh, man. Not again…" was all Ryan said before he vanished.

* * *

_All quiet so far,_ thought Tally as she monitored the connections of the network. At present, no 'Wild One' signals were making an attempt to breach the barrier between the digital and material worlds.

There was however, a minor energy spike in the net detected.

* * *

They had been making good time so far, or at least they were in Chris's point of view. Having never lived in a city quite the size of Shinjuku he couldn't make an accurate assessment as to what constituted as _good time_ in these streets. For all he knew this could have been the equivalent of the New York Rush Hour that he had heard so much about…

Chris's digivice suddenly glowed and sounded an alarm. The blonde haired boy reached for it but stopped as he saw that four cars ahead of them, what had to be the immediate cause of its reaction, a small explosion erupted and a familiar fog like barrier materialized out of thin air. As Chris, Caramon, and the agent watched, a shadowy figure appeared within the mists and erupted from it as it took to the air, too quick for any of them to get a good look at it. Chaos seemed to be the buzzword for the world outside the Agents car, and people began to run every which way, and even some vehicles rear-ended each other. Caramon looked at his human friend.

"Chris? I take it that this is where we're supposed to do a little damage control?"

Although he didn't think of himself by any means as a Tamer, or even capable of being one, he decided that now was as good a time as any to 'jump into things' so to speak. There was a brief hesitation however, during which he thought that it would be best to chill out and wait for the cavalry to arrive before heading out there, but the moment passed swiftly.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Chris as he opened the door and leapt out with his partner in tow. The agent shouted something but Chris ignored him. Not that he would have heard him anyway over the sound of the car alarms and screams.

* * *

8 


	10. Is Always Calmest

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers 

Chapter 9: "…Is Always Calmest…"

The entity soared into the air before finally settling on an indiscriminate rooftop. It swiveled its head around left and right, reaching out with its senses as it tried to locate its targets. There were two heading in its direction, and two others were a ways off. The entity waited a bit, as though it were gathering energy, and then opened its mouth and reared on its legs as if it were calling out though no sound came out. After closing its jaws it took off, heading for the closest of its targets.

* * *

Gray Richoemon floated in the strange liquid, completely oblivious to the world around him. Scientists busied themselves with the screens in front of them, occasionally looking up at the strange digimon to see if there was any change in his condition visually before returning to their work. If they have learned nothing else about digimon, they could not count on their instruments to give them a heads up if something _unexpected_ occurred. As their eyes returned to their work, no one noticed Gray Richoemon's eyes snap open.

* * *

Ryan had to admit, he was impressed with Renamon's infiltration abilities. She had gotten them past the front door, security, everyone, and all without being detected! Now they were sauntering down the halls towards where Ryan's digivice was leading them. As they approached the door Ryan spoke up.

"Renamon?"

She turned to face him.

"I just wanted to say 'thanks' again for helping me, even though you promised Chris not to…" Ryan stopped as the sensation of alarm tore through his head inexplicably. The vulpine digimon was about to ask him if he was alright when, as if on some sense of instinct, she leapt and tackled Ryan to the floor just at the exact same time that a fireball tore through the door that they had been standing in front of. Now the clang of an alarm rang through the air as Renamon got up and turned towards the remains of the door. As the kitsune watched, a gray colored version of the rookie digimon known as Richoemon stalked out of the room and sniffed the air before taking off down the hall at a run.

Renamon broke into pursuit.

Ryan watched in stunned amazement, but the realization of what had occurred brought him out of it and he got up. As he got ready to give chase he took a quick look into the room that his 'partner' had broken out of, finding the bewildered faces of numerous scientists and technicians. Ryan was about to call out and ask if everyone was all right when he was hit by a wave of dizziness.

_What the heck?_

He didn't notice the small glow that his dark-colored digivice gave off.

* * *

Renamon tackled Gray Richoemon only to be flung off a second later. Quickly recovering Renamon paused slightly to note data forming around the rookie digimon, merging into the familiar sphere that came with digivolving.

Only something was different.

The data sphere didn't fully form around Gray Richoemon, but instead seemed to settle into his body. As Renamon watched, the dinosaur's body lengthened to almost man-height, the claws and tail enlarging and becoming more pronounced, making him appear almost like a miniaturized version of Growlmon. Both Renamon and Gray Richoemon registered the transformation with surprise, but between the two of them Renamon was the first to recover. She didn't know precisely what just happened but if it distracted Gray Richoemon enough to immobilize him than it didn't matter right now. Leaping forward, Renamon drew back a fist, preparing to deliver an earth shaking punch.

However, it was not meant to be.

Whatever had caused the unusual change apparently did more than make Gray Richoemon bigger and meaner; it also made him faster. Spinning, the enlarged saurian lashed out at the vulpine with his tail, smashing it into her face at full force and redirecting her path of flight into a nearby wall. Not bothering to see if she was alive or not, the gray colored dinosaur continued tearing down the hall at break neck speed, knocking over a posse of guards that were just now rushing onto the scene. Continuing on his course, Gray Richoemon broke down another door and smashed through a window. As he fell towards the streets below him a black light enveloped the dinosaur and he spoke the words that signified his digivolution to his ultimate form.

"GRAY RICHOEMON! DARK DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

* * *

"HEY!"

"Watch it!"

"Crazy kid!"

Chris and Caramon ran (well, Chris ran, Caramon just rode) through the panicking crowd, experiencing some difficulty with doing so as they were going against the flow of traffic rather than with it.

_This is getting ridiculous. We've got to get to the danger zone FAST!_ Chris looked at his reptilian friend with a grim look on his face. Caramon simply nodded in understanding. They had been through enough similar situations to know what the other was thinking without really having to ask. Caramon leapt off Chris's shoulder as a glow surrounded him, matched by a similar glow by the digivice attached to his partner's pants.

"CARAMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"DRACARAMON!"

Chris didn't bother waiting for the pandemonium to change directions. He climbed onto his partners back and nudged him forwards with his legs. With one mighty leap, the champion digimon jumped onto a car roof and bounded off of it towards another one, using the cars as a frog would a lily pad. The crowd, who had paused long enough to witness the amazing spectacle resumed panicking while Dracaramon continued vaulting onto car roofs, getting closer to the disturbance. Chris pulled out his digivice and activated the detector program. _C'mone, c'mone, where is it? Where…?_

A flurry of movement and a glow of energy caught his attention, and Chris opened his mouth to give his partner a warning, but apparently one wasn't needed. With reflexes and instinct faster than any verbal warning Dracaramon leapt up into the air, just barely avoiding two purple-colored energy scythes as they tore through a red mini-van and gouging a trench in the sidewalk.

_Well,_ thought Chris as he held on tightly to his partner, waiting for his stomach to find its center of gravity again. _At least now we know where and what the problem is._ As soon as Dracaramon landed Chris jumped onto the ground, scanning the area around him visually before checking his digivice. Of their quarry there was no sign. His brow furrowed in concentration as he looked at his digivice. _Well, we knew where it was. Where'd it go?_ His scanner program couldn't seem to pick up a continuous signal that he could use to lock on. It kept fading in and out, and it never appeared in the same place more than once. Chris growled in frustration.

"Dracaramon, help me out here. Can you tell where this thing is? Whatever it is it's fooling around with the digivice."

Dracaramon looked around, testing the air. There seemed to be a scent, but there wasn't anything definite. Not even his keen vision could find anything. There was something very disturbing about what was going on. And the scent, what little he could pick up over the smell of so many humans (which he found to be quite unsatisfactory to his tastes) told him that whatever they were dealing with, it wasn't really a digimon.

"Dracaramon? Talk to me here."

"Sorry, Chris. But I can't tell…" He stopped as his eyes were drawn to the alley directly across from them. Something in the shadows moved. _Probably nothing_, he snorted but the sudden alarm from Chris's digivice ended that line of thought. Looking towards Chris he saw that the digivice's screen was glowing and making agitated noises. Something was clearly upsetting it.

"I've got a signal!" Chris exclaimed. "It's directly ahead!"

Dracaramon's head whipped back towards the alley in time to see a figure part from the shadows. It resembled a Snimon in almost every way except for its color. A mantis with scythe like arm blades, standing on four legs, its entire body black instead of the usual green. Chris didn't bother checking his digivice. He and Ryan had encountered a Snimon back in the digital world, so they had 'personal' experience with its attacks and capabilities. Besides, despite its difference in coloring, he had a feeling that the only information that he'd get on the insectoid digimon would be that of your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill Snimon. That dark coloring that it had was an all to familiar shade.

Either way, Chris wasn't to concerned, though the memory of what had transpired that morning still haunted him. He had faced Snimon before and had its stats almost down to a science. Even Dracaramon didn't look at all concerned.

But concerned or not, why take chances?

Dracaramon threw himself at the Snimon, his claws digging into the creature's tough carapace, seeking a weak point in the armor. What happened next took both Chris and Dracaramon by surprise. In a blur of motion, the Snimon brutally smashed its right sickle into Dracaramon's head, and using its left, pushed him off before executing two rapid slashes that signaled its special attack.

Yet, like the Apemon from earlier, it didn't say a thing as twin violet slashes tore through the air, sending Dracaramon spinning like a rag doll.

Dracaramon somersaulted through the air, crashing into a nearby car.

"Dracaramon! You okay, buddy?"

"Rrrrgh!" Dracaramon growled as he righted himself.

_I'll take that as a yes._

Dracaramon regained his footing only to be tackled by the Snimon.

_Oh yeah. This is going real well,_ thought Chris as he watched the two combatants roll across the ground, the sound of metal and breaking glass filling the air and mixed with snarls and hisses.

"DIAMOND CLAW!" Shouted Dracaramon as he delivered a slash at the Snimon's face. The force of the blow threw the Snimon off of him and Dracaramon leapt into the air, his scales parting slightly, revealing hundreds of spikes hidden beneath them. Dracaramon opened his mouth and pronounced the words that activated his attack.

"SCALE BLAZE!"

Hundreds of needle- sharp spikes filled the air and imbedded themselves in the body of the insectoid digimon. The Snimon fell back, its body destabilizing but not yet fragmenting. Chris let out a cry of triumph at the sight.

"All right, Dracaramon! Finish 'em…" His outburst was cut short when he noted a change in the digimon that had been their opponent. The data that appeared to destabilize now began to warp and change. The body grew in size, the scythe like blades lengthening and deepening their curves while the carapace grew more pronounced while spines shot out of its back. Two extra clawed arms grew out of its back to finish the transformation, and the reborn Snimon stood back on its feet. As Dracaramon backed up to assess the new appearance Chris took a look at his digivice to see what kind of information it had on it. An image was displayed, but below it were two messages flashing.

NO DATA!

And

UNKOWN DATA PATTERN!

_Unknown data pattern?_ Chris took another look at the creature as it advanced towards Dracaramon. _This can't be good._

Dracaramon growled.

* * *

Ryan picked himself up from off the floor with a groan as a headache ripped its way through his skull. A comforting paw placed itself on his back as a yellow furred kitsune helped him to his feet.

"Give me a status report, Scotty," mumbled Ryan as he massaged his temples. Renamon cocked her head at the boy but chose not to comment on the odd statement and instead opted to follow through on the request.

"Your partner has left the grounds of Hypnos and may already have digivolved. As to how high a level I don't know, but I believe that we should stop him before he causes any more trouble."

"What do you mean _we_?" Asked Ryan. "I'm not exactly a digimon…"

"Your friend Chris told us how you made Richoemon reverse digivolve by placing yourself in danger."

Ryan nodded in understanding. "Well, that could've been a fluke, but what the heck. I'll do it."

"Then come on," said Renamon as she lifted Ryan into her arms and phased out of visibility, barely giving Ryan time to get out his digivice and activate the scanner program.

The last thing he thought of as the world disappeared was of what his digivice was picking up.

* * *

BAM!

Metal Dracaramon was punched through a building like a cannon ball, landing hard on the streets as said building began to crumble. Sirens and car alarms were going off, and all around the ultimate level digimon people were fleeing in terror. To think that once back in the digital world he had expressed a desire to see more humans, and now here he was practically tripping over them. It was a miracle so far that they hadn't hurt anyone in their fighting. Getting back to his feet, Metal Dracaramon used his sensors to _see_ through the smoke, and what he found didn't thrill him too much.

The Snimon had morphed for the third time (the second being in response to Dracaramon's digivolving to ultimate), this time shedding most of its armor for more flexibility and replacing its scythe like blades with something resembling spiked hammers. Poor Chris had no idea what was going on; his digivice wasn't giving him any useful data at all, except for when the Snimon went through its transformations, during which it would give him a message that said _data transmutation_ and not going into any details as to what it meant. Of course, the change in form was a dead giveaway, but did that mean it was digivolving? He did a quick mental checklist of all the usual suspects that showed up during digivolution.

Flash of light or darkness?

No.

Call of original name and name change during digivolution?

No.

All it did was shift from one form to the next, each one getting stronger than the last. If the digimon was digivolving it had to be somewhere on the mega level by now, which meant that if he and Metal Dracaramon didn't get any backup soon, they were screwed.

* * *

Rika flipped over a card for what had to be the fiftieth time in this one hour. It was her own personal training and meditation that helped enable her to focus her mind. Even though she didn't like fighting as much as she used to back in the days before she met Takato and Henry (and even for a time after that) she was always making sure that she would be in top form for the next battle, especially now with those new kids in town trouble didn't seem like it was going to be far away. Taking into account two simultaneous attacks, one from two regular ultimates and another from an unusually powerful champion that seemed perfectly capable of handling a group of champions and a couple ultimate level attacks with hardly any trouble.

_Just what **is **__coming our way?_ She wondered. _It has to be something bad. It almost always seems to be. Wonder if it's going to be anything like D-Reaper? Ugh, why can't we get any good news for a change?_

The sound of thunder caught the girl's attention and curious she got up to take a look outside. She didn't remember any thunderstorms being in the day's forecast. As she slid open the door to her room she caught a flash of light off in the distance as it lit up some smoke that was billowing up from the chaotic battle that was now going on. Rika's eyes flashed and a second later she had her cards and D-Arc attached to her belt and she was running towards the trouble. Knowing Renamon she was probably already on her way there, but why didn't her digivice alert her to what was going on?

_Stupid thing must be broken,_ she thought. Another thought came to mind and she pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed Henry's phone number. No luck. Busy.

_These guys really need to get themselves cell phones,_ she mused as she dialed Takato's home phone.

"Matsuki residence," came a female voice from the other end.

* * *

"ARSENAL BARRAGE!"

With a cry, hidden compartments opened up all over Metal Dracaramon and missiles streaked from them, aiming towards the _Snimon_ and impacting with deadly accuracy. Metal Dracaramon tensed as the smoke billowed up towards the sky, and a figure erupted from its embrace.

_Wha…? It shifted form again?_

The creature that started life out as a Snimon had once again morphed, this time developing a protective cocoon like shell around its back and reforming its scythe like claws. As Chris watched helplessly from his vantage point, the Snimon smashed into his partner and began cutting into his body. His metal armor fortunately protected him from the worst of the blows.

_Every time Metal Dracaramon tries something, this guy changes form and makes things tougher. I wish that there were something that I could do to help him._

_Just where **is** that backup?_ Chris groaned.

Hidden safely in the shadows, a pair of golden eyes glowed ominously. It watched the battle, its cold mind calculating as it studied the combatants. After a moments consideration it leapt forward.

Metal Dracaramon plowed into the strange monstrosity that was once a regular Snimon, making it stagger backwards. With a snarl, Metal Dracaramon primed his laser cannons and fired them at close range on his adversary.

"LASER DISCHARGE!"

Green energy blasts forced the _Snimon _back and a number of compartments once again popped open and fired missiles, creating a shockwave that blew the ultimate cyborg digimon to the ground. Groaning, Metal Dracaramon got back to his feet, his battered armor creaking as he did so.

_I'm starting to sound like an old mon,_ he thought sarcastically.

As the smoke cleared, the raging _Snimon_ emerged, again unharmed by the cyborg's attack.

"Oh, come… ON!" Shouted Chris in frustration. His partner had been fighting for too long with no visible effect to show for his efforts besides the massive amounts of property damage and no doubt innocents who were hurt or dead as a result of this battle. They needed to end this fight, and _fast_.

_I wish someone would get here,_ thought Chris miserably as he gripped his digivice, watching the _Snimon _advance once more on his friend.He had never felt so useless before in his life. _We could really use a breather here._

As if in answer to the boy's silent plea, a large, dark form crashed into Metal Dracaramon's enemy, forcing it to the ground as spines and claws snapped out of its forearms. As Chris and Metal Dracaramon watched, their minds agape at perhaps what must be the strangest angel God could ever send to save them, the creature began slashing at their foe.

"GRIM SLASH!"

Metal Dracaramon looked at Chris. "Is that who I think it is?"

"It sure looks like it," said the blonde haired boy.

The creature, long and large, had a viscous and muscular reptilian look to it that matched its actions, which consisted of the most primal urge to destroy and conquer all enemies. Bony spikes extended themselves through the creature's blue and gray skin, and flexible but strong armor dotted its body around the face, chest, arms, and back. The armor on the chest, rib-like in appearance, seemed to have a thin line running down it, as though it contained something hidden.

As the monstrous creature tore into its new foe with a fervor that bordered on rage, one could tell that it lived by only two basic rules: That which moved dies. That which resists, dies first.

Chris looked down at his digivice and brought up the analyzer program. While this time it provided data on their target that he could use, it didn't make him feel any more comforted, as it only confirmed his worst fears.

GRIM TERRADRAMON

STAGE: Ultimate

TYPE: Virus

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Grim Slash, Death's Heart

Chris looked back at the fight, and once again wished that backup would hurry up and get here.

"So," said Metal Dracaramon wistfully. "Who do we root for?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that," replied Chris.

And that was when Renamon and Ryan phased into view, nearly giving Chris a heart attack.

"Renamon!" Chris nearly shouted. "It's about time. I was wondering when you guys would start getting here! Metal Dracaramon and I have been knocking ourselves out fighting this strange digimon and… RYAN?!" Chris's eyes went wide in shock.

"Renamon…" Chris began as he glared at the vulpine digimon. "You promised…"

If Renamon had said anything in response, it was drowned out when Grim Terradramon was hurled to the ground and pinned beneath the shape-shifting digimon's claws. Chris turned back to the fight.

"Uh, Metal Dracaramon? Better get in there…"

"RIGHT!" With a roar of thrusters being activated, Metal Dracaramon leapt into the air, laser cannons cycling through their warm-up phase as they charged up with energy.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl as Ryan's eyes locked with the cold yellow ones of Grim Terradramon. A fleck of dust hovered in the air; a chunk of debris kicked up by Metal Dracaramon floated lazily near the ultimates rear paws; Cyberdramon's silhouette could be seen against the moon alongside another that was human shaped and had a long pair of angelic like wings. None of this mattered though. The world seemed to have shrunk down to just Ryan and Grim Terradramon. Ryan heard his heart beating in tune with that of his partner.

_Thump! Bump!_

_Thump! Bump!_

Ryan stared into depths so cold, so icy, that he felt chilled to the bone, making him worry slightly that he might catch pneumonia just by looking into the monsters eyes.

_Thump! Bump!_

Ryan blinked. There was something in those eyes; something other than that coldness. Something wanting, needing to be let out. Calling for help. It looked so lost…

_Thump! Bump!_

It was Richoemon.

_Thump!_

_I can't let him fight this alone,_ thought Ryan.

_Bump!_

As the world returned to its regular pace, Ryan's digivice glowed like a star hailing the start of a new dawn. The light enveloped Ryan as Renamon and Chris shielded their eyes to avoid being blinded. The light contracted a bit and then shot towards Grim Terradramon before dying down. Chris blinked, trying to clear his eyes before looking at where his friend was. Then he blinked again, just to be sure that he had seen what he thought he saw.

"Where'd Ryan go?" He asked.

The sound of Grim Terradramon shouting something caught hold of his attention again.

"GRIM TERRADRAMON! SLIDE DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

"MEGA TERRADRAMON!"

As Chris, Metal Dracaramon, and Renamon watched, the bony extensions on Grim Terradramon retracted into his body, his reptilian form becoming more human shaped while still retaining a reptilian appearance. Wings shot out from his back and razor sharp, steel, fang-like blades erupted from his elbows and snapped outwards while another blade sprung from his snout. To complete the transformation his color shifted his color shifted from gray and blue back to his original orange coloring with black stripes.

With a mighty roar, the reborn ultimate level saurian forced his enemy back, charging one of his arm blades with a orange-gold energy before slashing at his foe.

"DRAGON FANG!"

The attack struck home, and actually tore off a chunk of the dark monsters armor. Undaunted, the creature lunged at Mega Terradramon, almost knocking him on his back while he charged up both of his arm blades for a double Dragon Fang attack. Before he could do so, a shout rang through the air and an energy blast slammed into the two combatants.

"CORONA DESTROYER!"

The creature that had once been a Snimon disintegrated under the unexpected attack, while Mega Terradramon fell to the ground, separating into the two distinct forms of a boy and a dinosaur like orange digimon. Richoemon and Ryan both looked at each other before the world went dark for them.

* * *

Wrapped in the embrace of the shadows around it, a dark form watched as the events played out. His plan had backfired on him, and led to unexpected results.

_No doubt this will attract the attention of Loki,_ the figure thought grimly. _I should make haste to claim what is rightfully mine._

The shadows shifted as the dark form retreated from the image of the scene of the child and digimon.

* * *

10 


	11. Before the Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

Digital Manifest

**Keepers **

Chapter 10: "… Before the Storm."

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Light slowly entered the world of darkness that made up Ryan's mind. It started out as a fuzzy blot in a sea of shadow before finally growing into one bright, but blurry image of a ceiling until finally snapping into view. Ryan groaned and shifted in his position on… a bed? Craning his head, he saw that yes, he was in a bed. A little different from the hospital bed that he was in the last time he had been conscious, but still similar, especially seeing as how he was hooked up to a heart monitor and everything. Whoever had put him here, wherever he was, certainly wasn't sparing any expense at making sure that he was going to be comfortable and okay. Ryan shifted again as he stretched a little, the little _beep, beep_ of the monitor accelerating slightly, but not much. Taking another look around to make sure that he wasn't dreaming or anything, Ryan groaned.

"This is starting to become a habit," he said groggily.

"Good, you're awake," said a voice from somewhere within the room. "You've had us all pretty concerned there when you collapsed after the battle."

Ryan turned towards the sound of the of the voice and found himself looking at the steel blue eyes of… Ryan blinked. He had never seen him before. But if the digivice that was at his side was any indication then he had to be a…

"Tamer?" Ryan croaked out before coughing. His throat felt dry. The boy got up smoothly and handed him a glass of water. Muttering _thanks_ Ryan drank it gratefully. After he was done the boy took it from him and smiled softly before speaking again. Ryan immediately felt at ease in his presence.

"Yeah, I'm a Tamer," said the boy. "My name's Ryo Akiyama. And your name's Ryan if I understand your friend Chris correctly." Ryan nodded his confirmation, and Ryo continued. "You've been out for the past couple of hours. No surprise since you and your buddy took a hit from a Mega attack."

This information caused Ryan to sit up.

"Where's Richoemon?" He asked, his voice filled with urgency.

"Relax," said Ryo. "He's safe. You both are. He's got some guys checking him over just to make sure though, and from what I saw that certainly isn't a bad idea. How're you holding up?"

Ryan gave the question the weighty consideration it deserved before answering. Just how _did_ he feel? Well, he certainly wasn't feeling great but at least he wasn't throwing up this time around and he promptly told Ryo so, leaving out the puking part though. Ryo nodded.

"I'm not surprised. Like I said, you got hit by a high-level digimon attack. You're lucky to be alive." Ryo stopped and chuckled. "But then, you did have a nasty looking digimon serving as a living shield for you so I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that. Still, Beelzemon may have been a little _too_ extreme in his attack…"  
Ryan frowned. The name Beelzemon brought up the memory of a conversation that he had with Kazu about Leomon.

_Didn't Kazu say something about how a Beelzemon deleted Leomon? Hmmm… must have been a different one. I can't imagine these guys teaming up with a murderer of a friend of theirs._

A hand waved in front of Ryan's face suddenly, startling him. "Ah…"

"Sorry," said Ryo, smiling gently. "But it looked like you were spacing out on me there, and I was trying to ask you a question."

"Sorry," said Ryan as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "What'd you want to know?"

Ryo's face became serious.

"What can you tell me about a girl named _Raven_?"

Ryan cocked an eyebrow.

* * *

Chris had been stuck at Hypnos with Henry's father for what seemed like forever in his mind while they went over the data that his and Ryan's digivice had gathered since Shinjuku's most recent _Godzilla _attack. Janyu was especially interested in looking over Ryan's digivice since, according to Chris and the other Tamers, it had changed color from black to white with green trim after the battle had ended. After pumping the group for more details, which inevitably led to what everyone had assumed to be Ryan's merging with his partner Janyu was now excited as he checked out both digivices. At present he was focusing on Chris's since it had gathered the most amount of information on the enemy it had scanned, but every so often he went back to Ryan's digivice and did something with his computer that made it light up and make noises.

Apparently the man had been busy in his spare time.

Overall, Chris didn't really mind being there, since he was at present the keeper of the two digivices (with Ryan temporarily out of commission, again). He didn't have anywhere to go (though Takato's offer of staying the night at his house was still on the table, Chris didn't think that he was going to get to it anytime soon). His main problem was that he didn't really understand much of what Janyu was talking about and to be honest, it was making him a little bit bored. Fortunately, Yamaki, Janyu's son Henry, and the rest of the Tamers (who had all shown up after they heard about the commotion that had started up not too long ago) were there to keep him company (though in Yamaki's case it was more because he wanted to know what Janyu was discovering). Unfortunately the mood in the room had to be kept to a serious tone (a challenge for Kazu, Chris quickly discovered) so that Chris wouldn't be distracted while he was mentally shuffling through his digivice's memory files.

At present, everyone was looking at multiple downloaded images of the Snimon that had attacked earlier as they were displayed on Janyu's computer, starting from its original form and going all the way through the various changes that it had gone through since.

"I started off thinking that this was another form of digivolution," intoned Janyu. "But the more I looked at the information the more I realized that it wasn't the case. The forms retained data that was similar to the Snimon, but radically reorganized and even strengthened in other areas, but lacked the differences in the amount of data that is normally found in digimon level, leading me to conclude that these forms were more of a response to a given situation. Sort of like a fighter changing combat styles against an opponent. Like here when it developed armor for dealing with Dracaramon's attack," Janyu pointed to the first change. "And here when it kept changing its choice of weapons to handle Metal Dracaramon's defenses when he digivolved." Janyu indicated the image of the Snimon when it had swapped out its sickle arms for the spiked hammers.

"I don't see how those clubs could do anything to Metal Dracaramon's armor," said Kazu. Chris looked at the visor-wearing boy and frowned.

"Actually Kazu, it was a good choice on its part…"

"Chris," said Caramon miffed. "Are you complimenting the enemies decision making?" Chris frowned.

"I mean it," the blonde haired boy replied before assuming a tone in his voice that the others associated with a teacher explaining something to a classroom full of students. "Back in medieval Europe, there was a period where plate armor was reaching its peak in development and guns were still a ways off in the future, so edged weapons like the sword were becoming less and less affective. Military minds turned to favoring the kinds of weapons that could get around that handicap, which basically meant that anything that could pierce, puncture, crush, or hack and had a lot of weight behind it when it was swung was the most obvious and preferred choice of arms for battle. Which explains why weapons like spears, lances, war hammers, and axes became more common place and sword design became more refined around the area of the tip, putting more emphasis on stabbing rather than slashing."

The others looked at Chris incredulously, causing the boy's face to flush and he shifted his feet nervously. He could feel their gaze as though they were branding irons.

"I… I happen to like history," said Chris trying not to meet anyone's gaze.

Kenta turned to Kazu. "Well, what do you know? I guess you do learn something new everyday."

Kazu growled in frustration and crossed his arms. He didn't even bother dignifying that with a response.

"So if its not digivolving, then what is it?" Asked Yamaki, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"I'd say that it's a lot like Takato and Guilmon's _Mode Change_ when they shift from regular Gallantmon to their _Crimson Mode_," replied Janyu.

"I guess," said Takato, feeling it necessary that he contribute something to the conversation. "Only from what you've showed us and from what we've seen that digimon could change form at will while… well… I still can't figure out the first thing about it."

Janyu nodded. "And the strengths seem to vary as well. However, while I was looking over Chris's digivice, I did notice this." Janyu clicked on a program and showed it to the Tamers. It was several images that they guessed were related in some way to the Snimon. The images contained a circle with varying degrees of a gray color inside it. The children and their digimon blinked.

"What is that?" Asked Henry.

"This circle represents a digimon's central core. It's their source of power and, essentially, their soul. What makes them, them. The gray coloring represents foreign data that has infiltrated the _Digicore_, almost like a computer virus. And by the looks of it, this foreign data can manipulate its host digimons data directly and at an unprecedented rate. Interestingly, I noticed a similar line of code in your digivices, Chris."

"You mean Ryan's."

"No, both of yours, though when I was analyzing Ryan's I took note that his has one complete line of code, and another fragmented one similar to what I found in the Snimon's."

"But Ryan's digivice returned to normal after he parted with Richoemon."

"That's something else that bothers me," said Rika as she leaned against the wall near the door. "Why'd he biomerge with his partner and only go to the Ultimate level. Usually when a Tamer merges with their partner they digivolve to Mega, and you guys are already able to go Ultimate. So what's the deal?"

"Since when does having a digivice make me an expert…?"

"I'm sure that there are questions that you all want answered," interrupted Yamaki. "But right now I think that we should focus on what's in front of us."

Janyu nodded. "I would like to run some tests on the boy, Ryan, later once he recovers." Janyu glanced at Chris. "If he's willing that is."

"I'll get the appropriate paper work ready for you, now if you could continue?"

Janyu cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, the algorithm that is inside the Snimon is able to manipulate the data that's around it, meaning the host digimon, and it _does_ share similarities with the ones that I found in Chris's and Ryan's digivices. Now the way that these algorithms appear to function is almost on the same line as a digimon's."

Henry frowned as he took that bit of information in. "So… are you saying that those digivices _are_ digimon?"

"In a way," said Janyu. "But not quite. They have lines of code that resemble the original algorithm that my college friends and I made years ago, but there are differences. It _does_ qualify as a digital life form, or at least it does in my opinion. I would have to compare the data some more and come up with a battery of tests to check out my hypothesis but if I didn't know any better I'd say that yes. They are alive, though in the case of the digivices their relationship with Chris and Ryan and their respective partners is more of a symbiotic relationship while the one that exists in the Snimon in parasitical in nature."

Chris looked down at his red trimmed digivice. _So… this thing's **alive**?_

"At any rate, the algorithm inside of the Snimon was doing much more than just reorganizing the data of its host for battle. While I was analyzing the information I noticed that there was an overall program running inside of it that was changing its structure, which may account for the difference in its color. I'd say that the program was attempting to transform the Snimon into something else. Possibly a new form for the data within the digimon's central core."

"What kind of new form?" Asked Kenta.

"Not sure yet. I'll need to set up a program to run some simulations based on what I've gathered so far. If Yamaki feels that it's important that is…"

"Run the simulations," said Yamaki with a curt nod. He didn't want to take any chances. If having an idea on what new form looked like gave them an added advantage when confronting whatever was coming their way he'd take it. Besides, he wanted to see the face of what could potentially be their enemy.

There followed a knock on the door and everyone turned to see Ryo Akiyama standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

"He's awake. Again."

"Perhaps now would be a good chance to ask him about participating in those _tests_ that you asked about," said Yamaki to Janyu.

* * *

Leomon sat on the roof of Hypnos, his legs crossed and his mind in deep meditative thought. He was focusing on the events that had occurred today, and even on some that had transpired before.

_"Double Scissor Claw!"_

That day when he had first met Ryan and Chris. It had been a confusing time for him. This may have had something to do with the fact that he had no idea how he had gotten there. Even his own actions since that day had been… odd shall we say? He should have asked questions, should have tried looking for Jeri (his last memory in fact prior to arriving at that crucial moment had been of Jeri right after Beelzemon had impaled him). Instead of doing any of those things he had taken those two children and their partners under his protection and offered to be their guide during their stay in the digital world. Occasionally, some things would come to mind, bits of information floating to the surface like so much driftwood. And all the while he hadn't once questioned where any of it had come from.

Until now, when he had lied to Ryan at the hospital.

_I feel as though there's something in me, overriding my thoughts. And it's taken me until now to realize it. Why did I lie to Ryan about **Ahuramon's Shadow**? For that matter, how did I even know about it?_

The setting of the sun held no answers for the lion digimon.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Go talk to him."

"And why should I do dat?"

Renamon sighed in exaspiration as she fixed Impmon with a fearsome glare.

"Impmon, you've been avoiding Leomon ever since you first saw him. You always used to tell me about how you wished you could tell him how sorry you were for what had happened. Now, here's your chance."

Impmon scowled as he looked at Leomon's muscular form. "No, I don't have to. Dat's not Leomon."

Renamon's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean? Why isn't he Leomon? He remembers all of us, and more importantly Jeri's digivice works on him…"

"What're you getting' at Fox-o?"

"Just that he passes all the requirements that makes him the Leomon we knew."

"Except that you're forgettin' on thing, Foxy."

"And that is…?"

"I still have Leomon's data."

The vulpine digimon's face remained passive, but mentally she scolded herself.

_Of course. Why didn't I think of that myself? How embarrassing that it had to be Impmon to make the connection before me, but then he would know better than anyone. Wouldn't he?_

Renamon now looked at Leomon with renewed interest, and even caution.

"That Leomon may act like the one yous guys used to know," continued Impmon. "But he's not. He can't be. I can still feel Leomon's data inside me. I don't know who that one is, but he's _not_ the Leomon that I… destroyed."

* * *

"Excuse me?" Asked Ryan. "I'm not sure if I heard you right. Did you just say that you want to _experiment_ on me?"

Janyu smiled. "All I did was ask if I could run you through some tests?"

"What's the difference?"

Janyu sighed. Ryan's face assumed an apologetic look.

"Sorry. I'm sure you mean well, but may I ask why?"

Janyu nodded. "I feel that it's necessary to have your physical condition checked out. Your partner and your digivice may have returned to normal but the sudden reasserting of their original condition and the reasons behind it puzzles me. Usually when a Tamer merges with their digimon they bypass all their other evolutionary stages and go straight into the Mega level. According to Chris all that happened was a correction in your partners data and he returned to his initial Ultimate level form. Now based on what we gathered from yours and Chris's digivices there was a corrupting line of code that was changing your partner and making both him and your digivice assume their dark coloring. The code that remains in your digivice is fragmented now, but there's a massive amount of data missing from it. Since you were merged with your partner I want to see what sort of possible affects that the experience has had on you."

Ryan listened carefully as he weighed his options.

"What kind of experiments?" Ryan asked.

* * *

_Ask a silly question. Get a silly answer as they always say,_ thought Ryan, as he lay strapped down on a bed while technicians placed sensors on his body. After they were done the bed jerked as hidden mechanisms began to draw the boy into a tube like machine. Once the bed halted inside the tube, lights activated and began to alternate between on and off as hidden sensory equipment began to scan Ryan's body. Ryan sighed inwardly. All that was left to do now was wait.

Janyu's computer processed and displayed the information that it was receiving while the former Monster Maker analyzed it. At first he didn't see the importance of what it was that he was being shown, but then his eyes caught something and he looked it over again.

_This is impossible,_ thought Janyu as he flipped through the incoming data. _This can't be…_

_

* * *

_It was getting late out and the Tamers had decided on going home. Over Yamaki's protests (which weren't terribly enthusiastic they thought) they had politely refused the offer of transportation. Wasn't that big of a deal though. Rika quickly hitched a ride with Kyubimon and Kazu and Kenta climbed onto Guardromon and flew off. Henry opted to stay behind a little bit longer and see if he couldn't get a ride from his dad later (and if not there was always Rapidmon). As for Ryo, Chris, Caramon, Takato, and Guilmon, they decided on depending on Cyberdramon to give them a lift back to the Matsuki bakery. For the moment though, they were waiting patiently for Takato as he was currently talking to Jeri. 

"Jeez," muttered Caraamon. "Why don't those they just kiss and get it over with already? Some of us would like to sleep sometime this century."

Ryo raised an eyebrow at the little lizard while Chris sighed in exaspiration.

"Only been here for _one_ day and already he's picking up Terriermon's bad habits."

"Momentai," chuckled Caramon.

Chris groaned.

* * *

"You sure that you don't want me to come with you, Jeri?" Asked Takato gently. "I mean it's a long way for you to get home, and I'm sure Yamaki would…"

Jeri silenced the boy with a shake of her head.

"Thanks Takato, but I'll be all right. I appreciate the gesture but there are some things that I want to take care of on my own tonight." Jeri looked over at Leomon as she said this and Takato nodded in understanding.

"Okay. Just… be careful Jeri. I… I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, you know?"

Oh, boy, Takato felt some heat creep into his face. Thinking himself an idiot Takato looked away from the girl and mumbled something inaudible. Jeri smiled softly at the boy.

"Don't worry, Takato," she said in a brave, cheerful voice. "I have Leomon here to protect me remember? I'll be fine."

Takato returned Jeri's smile and waved good-bye to the girl as she and her partner walked away. Takato continued to wave for a moment longer before lowering his hand. As Jeri and Leomon disappeared around a corner the boys face became a little downcast and he pitched a sad sigh.

Ryo approached Takato and swung a companionable arm around the goggle-wearing Tamer and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Still courting her, huh? Don't worry. She'll come around sometime."

Takato seemed to perk up at this. "You think so? Wait! I mean… er… what're you talking about?"

"You know Takato, it surprises me to no end how you charge into D-Reaper to rescue her without thinking about the dangers involved, but as soon as it comes to matters of the heart you choke. You're one weird kid Takato."

Takato sighed as Guilmon approached his Tamer and nuzzled him.

"Cheer up, Takato," said the large crimson dino. "When we get home we can do whatever you want to make you happy. We can play games, eat bread, tell stories, eat bread…"

Takato laughed lightly and rubbed his partner's head. "Thanks you guys. So, Ryo, I guess that once you drop us off at my place you'll be going home, huh?"

"Actually, if you don't mind I'd like to stay the night at your house. I'd still like to talk to both you and Chris before we turn in. That fight earlier really chewed into our time."

"I'll ask my parents when we get there if it's okay. Is everyone ready?"

"Always am," said Ryo as he motioned for his partner Cyberdramon to come over. Everyone found a spot on the Ultimate to cling to or ride on, and Chris swallowed as Caramon tightened his tail's death grip on his partner's arm. With a mighty leap, Cyberdramon took off and spread his great wings.

"YAAAAH!" Screamed Chris and Caramon as they suddenly realized that they had left their stomachs back on the ground.

* * *

Jeri and Leomon walked in silence after leaving the other Tamers behind. Leomon was feeling a little uncomfortable with the girl. He sensed that there was something that she was keeping back from him, and it wasn't like her. Of course, he could attribute this to her own natural inhibitions as she had shown in the past that she wasn't so straightforward about things that she was uncomfortable with.

Just as he was about to ask his partner if everything was all right, Jeri spoke.

"Leomon? Did you lie to Ryan earlier today? When you told him about that _shadow_ thing?"

Leomon froze for a second before meeting his Tamer's gaze. He thought for a moment, and listened to what his heart told him. He found that he could not hide the truth from her.

"Yes. Yes I did," he told her softly.

"Why?" Asked Jeri sadly. "I thought that you trusted them."

Leomon was silent for a moment.

"I do," he said finally. "It's just that the information that I gave him _was_ unknown to me before the subject came up. It was as though one moment it wasn't there, and the next it was. Its arrival caught me by surprise and I… didn't know how to tell it to him." Leomon felt ashamed. He was the kind of digimon who took personal failure hard.

Jeri clasped one hand to Leomon's wrist and made him turn to look at her, halting their progress.

"Leomon," she said. "I don't know what happened to you after we were… _separated_, but you should remember that as partners we must be open to each other and our friends. Tomorrow, we should tell Ryan what you told me and maybe he and Chris can help you."

Leomon nodded, though he doubted that such would be the case.

* * *

Over the city, a winged cyborg saurian flew with its cargo, some of it screaming for all it was worth.

* * *

10 


	12. Of Other Things

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers 

Chapter 11: Of Other Things.

Chris lay on the floor of Takato's room, a blanket borrowed from the boy's parents wrapped around him as he stared up at the ceiling, listening to the rhythmic breathing of the two Tamers that lay in the room with him. He thought over the things that had transpired over the course of the day and of last night, starting with his and Ryan's re-emergence into the real world from the digital, the meeting with the Tamers, the battles against the Apemon, BlackKnightmon and NightmareBlitzmon, Richoemon's dark digivolution and Ryan's subsequent hospitalization. On and on, from Hypnos to the battle with Snimon. And the information that Ryo had shared with him and Takato had certainly been… _enlightening_… for lack of a better word. Especially in regards to the _Raven_ character that Ryo had asked him about ealier. According to the Legendary Tamer he had had a private conversation with Ryan before telling the others that he was awake, and it turned out that Ryan did know the person, or rather, the girl. When Chris had asked for a description he too found that he knew her; dark hair, grayish-blue eyes, and wearing dark clothing. If what Ryan thought was right then the girl had to be one by the name of Jane Dawn.

From what Chris knew from school gossip (little of it he paid attention to anyway) the girl was something of a loner. Not that she was cold or antisocial; she just preferred to keep to herself. She didn't bother anyone and in return no one bothered her. Since she was a newcomer to the school that Ryan and Chris attended (she had been there for about a year) people liked to talk about her. Jane, nicknamed _Raven_ because of the bird drawings that she doodles during class (though they could hardly be called _doodles_ by any stretch of the imagination), was something of a mystery, and everyone loved a mystery. A lot of the stories were most likely made up, and a lot of them focused on her life at home. No one ever saw her family, at least, no one who went by her house on the school bus. The only thing that everyone could agree on was that she liked birds. Especially Ravens.

_Why didn't I make a connection earlier?_ Wondered Chris as he frowned. _Probably because I was in the digital world for too long. Spent so much time running and fighting the environment and digimon that I guess that being asked about someone named Raven and having it be a human was the last thing that I expected._

Chris was intrigued by the idea of Jane being in the same boat as he and Ryan. Mostly because he felt that she might have a clearer understanding of why they were chosen for… whatever it was that they were chosen for (which, at present, seemed to consist of getting attacked regularly by crazy digimon).

_I wonder what she's doing right now…_

After a few minutes, nothing came to mind, so Chris's thoughts turned to another subject. The Aesir.

Ryo had been interested in hearing Chris's take on what he had called _the Aesir._ Having heard about it from Jane after he had apparently _saved_ her (though from what or why, Ryo was rather vague about) the Legendary Tamer wanted to know more. While Ryan knew nothing about it, Chris had an inkling, though to be fair, what he knew about the Aesir was based more on some books that he had read prior to his jaunt to the digital world.

Chris had told the Tamers about how he liked history. This is true, but it's not where his true passion lay. He did like reading stories about the past, especially the stories told by cultures long gone. Ancient mythology, to be more specific, was what he liked. History was more like a hobby, or just an eventual consequence of his amour for the subject.

The _Aesir_, as Chris understood it, was a representative name meaning the pantheon of the Nordic gods. Odin, Thor, Loki, Tir, etc… etc… all of which Ryo found interesting, seeing as how digimon themselves were also based off of human dreams, myths, and legends. However, when Ryo had pressed Chris for more details, he wasn't able to provide any. Sadly, his mythology knowledge extended only to the limited texts found in basic encyclopedic references and definitions without going very far into any details. The only time that Chris had gotten any decent amount of information had been when he had done a report on the Vikings for school. Beyond that, his public, private, and educational life didn't allow for much time to use Internet resources unless it was for a school project (of which his school and family was quite strict about). His parents had gotten him some books on his favored subject for his birthday, but that had been a couple days prior to his trip to the digital world. Not really a whole lot of time to do any _light reading_.

Happy birthday, neh?

Chris sighed and turned on his side, pulling out his digivice as he did so to take a look at it. It wasn't any different from when he had first gotten it; it was still the same _T_ shape with red trim around the screen. A gadget from the digital world that he used to help Caramon digivolve.

Right?

Except… Janyu Wong had said that it shared similar data to digimon. Data codes that made them walk and talk, and throw fireballs at you. Did that make the digivice alive?

Chris stared at the digivices screen as though it could give him an answer.

The screen winked to life, stayed lit for a few seconds, and then turned itself off.

_Oh, ha, ha,_ thought Chris, feeling a little spooked. Setting the digivice on the floor, Chris rolled over and, eventually, fell into a fit, but troubled sleep.

* * *

Yamaki lowered the report onto his desk before looking up at Janyu.

"Interesting," said Yamaki slowly.

"You do realize what this means, don't you?"

Yamaki settled back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. He had an idea all right, but he wanted Janyu to say it, if only to confirm his suspicions.

"Enlighten me."

Janyu sighed. "Ryan has part of the viral algorithm in him. It must have happened after he merged with his partner."

"Any idea as to how or why that could have happened?"

"I can only base this on the theory that Ryan and Chris's digivices share the same survival mechanisms as the digimon. From what I can guess at, the digivice knew that it had been invaded by foreign data, and as such the link between the partners was being corrupted. As the infection progressed, the link between all three of them, digivice, digimon, and human, began to show physical symptoms that something was wrong, so it did the one thing that it was capable of doing to purge the virus from its systems."

"By merging them together?"

Janyu nodded. "I believe that Ryan's purpose in the biomerge was to be used as substitute data for what was already corrupted, as well as to use his memories of his partner's true Ultimate form to purify his partner and then later to filter out and fragment the virus."

"I see. Is Ryan in any danger from having that data in his body?"

"It doesn't look like it at present. The test that I put him through today seemed to indicate that the fragmentation process is continuing, so the data may dissipate given enough time and leave him none the worse for wear. Can't imagine what might happen though if he went to the digital world with it still in him."

Yamaki pondered this development for a moment. "Continue to keep him under observation, and put him through whatever tests you feel are necessary to make sure that that data is just _dissipating_. In the meantime I'm going to get some people to track down those kids families."

"That could take some time."

"Yes, I know. But that's time we can also use to identify their assailants and their reasons for pursuing them, as well as to find ways to combat them. Perhaps Ryan and Chris can be of some help on that end."

"I don't know," said Janyu, unsure. "From what I've been told, they didn't seem to know any more about this mess than we do. I'm not sure just how much help they can be for us, but I am curious about their digivices. The algorithm is… _unusual_."

"Are you any closer to breaking their code?"

"Sadly, no. Some of the data shares qualities with Henry's and his friend's digivices, but then there are other aspects that are different. And then there are some that I can't make heads or tails of. At least not yet anyways. I might know more tomorrow after I've had a decent nights sleep."

Yamaki nodded. "I think we could all do with some rest."

* * *

The digital world…

The Earth hung in the night sky as data streams swept across the landscape, casting a light that illuminated everything that lay below it in a soft, but cool glow that was akin to the light of a moon. Beneath the glimmer of silver and blue strode two figures, one tall and humanoid while the other was short and bird shaped. The taller of the two was a girl around the age of twelve with long, dark hair tied back into an arching ponytail, and gray-bluish eyes that held a focus and maturity in them that made her older than she really was. She wore a plain white t-shirt topped by a black fleece jacket that she had left unzipped and, to complete her wardrobe, she wore a pair of dark colored jeans. Next to her walked the bird like creature whose colors complimented the girl's. Black feathers with blue and white markings decorated her body, focusing primarily on the ends of the wings as though they were blades. Despite the obvious difference in height between the two, their movements were that of long companionship.

The girl brought out a _T_ shaped device with black trim, and it displayed a holographic image of the surrounding landscape. A white line was clearly marked on the map.

"We're almost there Munnimon," said the girl to the bird. "We should still be on their trail."

The bird that had been referred to as _Munnimon_ simply nodded, and the two continued on their way.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. This was more to change gears after a month of writing my other fic (Unbroken Hearts), as well as to set the stage for the next arc of the Digital Manifest story line, which will feature some dealings with Leomon, Jane and Munnimon, Ryan, Chris and their partners, as well as some more on the nature of their digivices and the enemy that's pursuing them. That's all for now. Later.

-Crazyeight

4


	13. Life Moves On

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter 12: Life Moves On

Not much happened for the next three days. Ryan continued to go through Janyu's tests, this time with the knowledge of what they were for. When he had been given the news he took it silently, accepting it for what it was; the look on his face when Janyu broke it to him was distant and introspective, making it difficult to ascertain what he was feeling, though if Chris knew anything about him (and he did), Ryan wasn't liking the knowledge one bit. He only asked one question about it, and that was whether or not there was anything that could be done for his _condition_. When Janyu had replied that the data trapped inside his body was fragmenting and didn't pose a danger to him, Ryan's face brightened visibly. However, Janyu told Ryan afterwards that as he had no experience with what data of this type could do to a human body when exposed to a digital atmosphere, so his wisest course of action would be to avoid any trips to the digital world and possibly digital fields just to be on the safe side. Ryan couldn't promise anything about digital fields (as they tended to pop up in random locations and had proven to be able to follow people regardless of where they went) but as far as the digital world was concerned he was fine. He didn't have any plans to go there any time soon. Both Chris and Ryan had been alternating among the Tamer's residences when they needed a place to go for sleep, either individually or together. Mostly they had been staying at Henry and Takato's homes, as they were closest, with Kenta and Kazu having offered theirs as well (well, Kazu said something more along the lines of _'smuggling'_ them in, to which Ryan and Chris both said that they'd think about it). Rika had _implied_ that her home was available for the two of them to stay, but so far the opportunity (or the desire for that matter) had yet to come up. As things stood, Ryan and Chris were content shuttling back and forth between Takato and Henry's homes, but they knew that they couldn't keep doing that for long. Sure, their families were agreeable enough, but both boys were aware that their presence was causing a certain _tension_, particularly in the Wong household, which resulted in their trying to find ways to lighten their being around. It wasn't easy, and they had yet to fully develop a system (having barely a week's time in Shinjuku and plenty of other distractions on their minds), but they were getting somewhere. Chris was mostly informing Janyu and Henry on some of the things that they had seen in the digital world, and they were curious as to the nature of the temple that had brought them and Leomon into the real world, while Ryan focused on the fine culinary required to bake bread so as to, as he put it, _earn their keep_. Which was fine as far as Takato and his parents saw it, though they were at first hesitant to allow him to be in the kitchen or to bother with making food, but when he told them that he _needed_ something to do or else he'd go crazy, they smiled and gave him an apron. Things have been on a role ever since.

They didn't see too much of Leomon during this time. Presumably Jeri was helping him settle back in and adjust to being alive after having _died_, but after nearly three days Chris was starting to get a little worried while Ryan was starting to get a little frustrated. Though he wasn't very obvious about it, Chris had noted that Ryan seemed especially interested to see the lion digimon who had been their guide and guardian during the last leg of their journey through the digital world. Although Ryan wouldn't give any details as to why this was, as Chris had yet to actually ask them, and it had taken him a couple days to pick up on it, it must not have been very important. Ryan didn't express any over eagerness to see Leomon. Perhaps it was just because they had been together for too long in the digital world and saw themselves as being closer to him than to the Tamers, despite his own history with the group. Somehow Chris didn't think that was the case. In all the time that Chris had known Ryan, whether in school or the digital world, he had never been possessive of anyone or anything except when they were real little kids. There were personal reasons for Ryan to develop this particular trait of his, but none of them kept him from getting along with others (the only notable exception being a girl that they knew in school by the name of Ashley, but then she was usually a jerk to just about everybody), and this was evident in how he approached each of the Tamers, particularly Takato, Henry, Kenta, Jeri, and Ryo. Rika he was courteous to, but her dry, sarcastic manner bothered him a bit, and Kazu seemed to be a little wrapped in his own world to really feel comfortable with. That and Kazu tended to be loud a lot, usually when he was boasting or around Ryo.

Chris had similar relations with the other Tamers, though he sympathized more with Kenta, and took Kazu's attitude rather well, though he did grate on the blonde haired boys nerves sometimes.

Janyu continued to analyze the duo's digivices, trying to translate the algorithm that lay buried within them, but the only ones that he was able to successfully translate were the base sets connecting the digivices to their partners and, of course, digivolving. Commenting on the differences Janyu claimed that it was almost as if there were two different programs that had been written together. Of this, Ryan and Chris weren't to sure on what to say that could possibly satisfy Janyu's answers. Rika had, at one point, brought up something that Renamon had witnessed in her brief fight with Richoemon when he was GrayRichoemon. According to the red haired girl, and later confirmed by the vulpine as she phased out of the shadows (somewhat disturbing Ryan, Chris, and their two partners at the same time), Richoemon had underwent a transformation that had modified his form in a way similar to digivolving but at the same time wasn't. It was, as Renamon said, almost as if it were an _incomplete_ digivolution. Richoemon, when pressed, could remember nothing of what had happened during his _viral conversion_ (he had apologized profusely to Renamon for his actions nonetheless) so none of them could gleen his thoughts for any details as to how that had happened. Janyu was ecstatic however, and began to experiment with lines of code for something that he called _data manipulation_. Chris and Ryan had taken it into their own hands to experiment as well and find a way to pull it off, appealing to the four primary Tamers (Ryo, Rika, Takato, and Henry) and their own experiences with digimon and the digital world. Ryo was a little hesitant to divulge anything about his time in the digital world, but offered what advice he could (though he had admitted that due to the differences in their digivices he was basically taking a stab in the dark). Takato, Henry, and Rika were much more forthcoming and easier to talk to about this sort of thing. They related to how in various battles against some digimon called _Devas_ they were able to use their desire to help their partners and protect the city to give their partners the strength that they needed to digivolve and defeat their enemies. A nice thought Ryan admitted, but he wasn't sure how wishes were going to help them.

Still, wishes were better than nothing. They certainly had quite an empty schedule for trying out various tests to get a better idea as to how their digivices operated, and they could expect regular input from the Tamers as well, it being summer in Japan and then there was the fact that Yamaki had yet to contact their families. The head of Hypnos had given them a talk about how they had to contact the American government (Chris and Ryan had supplied phone numbers and E-mail addresses) as well as downplay the amount of media attention that this would get once contact had been made and their identities confirmed. All of which would take time… possibly quite a bit of it if bureaucracy had anything to say about it. When asked if there was anything that he could do to _speed things up_, Yamaki had promptly told them that things didn't always work the way they do on TV.

Chris couldn't help but feel some small measure of irony at this statement.

* * *

_I wonder what'll happen today,_ thought Chris as he took a bite out of _some_ Guilmon bread and lay back on the grass. It was from a batch that Ryan had made for dinner last night. Not quite as good as what Takato and his parents made on a regular basis, but for a beginner he didn't do half bad. Ryan's take on baking was, _it was boring_ _but at least he was occupied._ Besides, he claimed that kneading the dough calmed his nerves and gave him time to think. Whenever Richoemon and Guilmon weren't trying to get into things that is. Looking up at the clear blue sky, Chris reflected that it was rather pointless to be wondering about what could happen today, since anything conceivably could, especially when your daily business involved things like the digital world. Turning his head to one side, facing the shed where Guilmon lived, he saw some of the Tamers with Ryan and smiled. Ryan was currently deadlocked in a Digimon card battle with Rika, and judging from the look on his face he was losing. Badly.

Not that he was at all surprised by this; in the past few days since arriving in Shinjuku, the Tamers had taken to asking the Tamers many questions, mostly geared towards finding a way to fully use their digivices. During their talks they had spoken of the Deva attacks and the D-Reaper invasion (this last still confusing Chris after a fashion since he and Ryan had not seen a sign of the murderous program that the Tamers had described), and of course this itself led to the Digimon television show and card game. Chris had ceased to be surprised by the fact that the show and card game bore a great similarity to the creatures that they had seen in the real live version of the digital world, but the fact that it bore a such a close resemblance anyway was a curiosity to him, and he had asked Henry and Takato about it. Henry had claimed that his father, Janyu, had been more or less responsible for creating the first digimon back in his college years with some friends of his, and that after the project that was responsible for developing them had been canceled, the leftover data had been used to create the digimon games, both the card and computer installments, which was some rather interesting bit of information (Caramon jokingly said that next time he saw Janyu he may have to bow to him). Inevitably this led to further questions about the card game and before they knew it, Kazu had volunteered to be their teacher in the ways of Digimon, with some support teaching from Takato and Henry. After a quick lesson (with interruptions by Takato and Henry to point out some rule that Kazu had conveniently _overlooked_), and a few hands (the two boys losing so badly that they were beginning to wonder what else Kazu had held back on them) Rika Nonaka arrived on the scene and, after rolling her eyes at the sight before her, immediately took matters into her own hands. Chris supposed that it was something of an honor since, during the lessons they had found out that Rika was a high-ranking Digimon card game player (Second only to Ryo they heard shortly thereafter, which brought out an angry retort from the girl). Since Rika started teaching them the game's mechanics, Ryan and Chris had found new meaning in the saying, _getting schooled_. Rika wasn't just good. She was phenomenal! She had a natural flare for the game that came to her about as easily as breathing. Granted, they were just beginners, but the way that Rika played…

Chris had to wonder just how much better Ryo had to be in order to beat the girl.

Ryo… Chris frowned slightly. Now _there_ was a mystery. Based on what little he had already seen, Ryo always seemed to be aloof when it came to the other Tamers. Even when Ryan and Chris had talked to him about his experiences in the digital world he had been a little hesitant about discussing them. Not like Rika was mind you. Far from it in fact. Ryo had the type of personality that you could respect (though why Rika reacted so negatively to him was beyond Chris. The way that they got on, Chris had nearly been convinced that they were flirting. Well, at least it looked that way on Ryo's part) and be drawn to. He had an easygoing, confident exterior but it sometimes seemed to Chris that it was more of a façade to mask what he was really feeling on the inside. Maybe it was because he had been stuck there for almost a year, with his only constant company a ferocious creature that wasn't always in control of himself. Either way, Ryo struck Chris as the type of person who would play his cards close.

Digimon Tamer and game champion notwithstanding.

Chris suddenly sat up in surprise as he felt a soft pressure land on his forehead, causing him to give a startled shout that made the others look up in surprise. Tossing his assailant off his face, Chris backed away bewilderedly, blinking as he took in the creature in front of him. He had expected Guilmon or Terriermon to do this (maybe even Ryo's partner when he was in his Rookie form), or at least a small Wild One that looked remotely threatening. What he saw came as a complete surprise.

A short, very, very, short, white digimon with big eyes, a happy face, and a cluster of four triangles on his forehead. The small, white creature that Chris could only identify as _a cream puff_ at first glance tilted its head to one side and suddenly its ears expanded as it spoke in a cheerful, playful tone.

"Hi!"

Chris blinked again.

"Wha…?"

Chris never got the chance to finish. Without warning the midget digimon leapt up into Chris's hands and started laughing childishly as Chris jerked back reflexively, clearly not expecting a digimon that was more interested in playing than wrecking havoc with either his person or that of the city. His motion woke up his partner, who was lying next to him and had been dosing in the sun. The little lizard raised his head and blinked profusely before lying back down on the grass and using his claws to cover his ears.

"Some of us are trying to sleep here…" Caramon whined.

_Oh, you're a lot of help,_ thought Chris sarcastically.

* * *

"Oh, it's just Calumon," said Takato as he lounged about on Rika's side of the playing field. Ryan blinked. There was a tiny creampuff digimon that just snuck up on his friend and the others weren't at all concerned about it. Well… it _was_ just a little guy but still, the question begged…

"So, he's not dangerous?"

"Only to food," muttered Rika as she drew from her deck.

"Huh?"

"What she means is that if you have anything to eat with you while Calumon's around, it's toast."

"How astute, Kazu," said Rika.

"But I'm right."

"There's a first time for everything…"

"… I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."

"When you figure it out Archimedes, let me know. In the meantime…" And with that, the Digimon Queen laid a Sakuyamon card over her Taomon. Ryan's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Oh man…"

"And there's another victory for me."

"Man, you collect victories the way some people collect stamps."

Rika raised an eyebrow at this while the others chuckled lightly at Ryan's comment. Next to the boy, Richoemon looked at his partner.

"Ryan? What's a stamp?"

Ryan sighed.

"Let's… file that under _things to answer later_."

Terriermon laughed from his spot on Henry's shoulder.

"Bet you have a lot of those, don't ya?"

"He still owes me an explanation for that incident that he had with Sukamon and Chuumon," said Richoemon almost proudly, only to cry in pain a second later as Ryan ground his knuckles into the dino's scalp.

"And just for that, let me remind you that the _later_ file is translated as _indefinitely_!"

"Ohhh… Sorry…"

Henry finished chuckling. In the past two days that Ryan and Chris had been around, he and the others had learned that this was a subject that was taboo when it came to their adventures in the digital world. He didn't really know any of the details but based on what he had already heard he was strangely reminded of events from the TV show involving a pink loving, fashion girl and that pair of digimon. For Ryan's sake though he never brought the subject up, and when someone did tried to change the subject.

"So… uh… how're you settling in so far, Ryan? Last night you stayed at Takato's house."

Richoemon shifted uncomfortably at Henry's question. And with good reason to. He had been the primary reason why Ryan had stayed the night at Takato's home rather than Henry's, as had been expected since he still had to participate in Janyu's experiments, and being in the same area made travel quicker and easier for that to happen. However, there was the issue of Henry's little sister, Suzie Wong and some weird game that Terriermon had called _the Princess Pretty Pants Treatment_.

Needless to say, Richoemon came within a hairs breath of being forever traumatized.

"It's going okay. Especially after you're dad and Terriermon helped Richoemon get housebroken so that there wouldn't be any _morning incidents_."

Takato flushed lightly at the comment. Everyone knew that Caramon's first stay at the Matsuki home had yielded rather _interesting_ results. And that was putting it lightly.

"How are your tests with Henry's dad going?" Asked Kenta.

Ryan looked down at the card deck that he had been playing with (his biggest disadvantage had been his inability to read the language printed on the cards, but with the help of the other Tamers he was slowly getting an idea of what the cards could do), picked it up and began shuffling.

"Fine," continued Ryan flatly. "Yamaki wants me to continue doing them though."

"You don't sound to happy about that," said Kenta.

"Yeah," exclaimed Kazu. "What gives? And what's so important about these tests that you have to keep doing them? You never really talk about it!"

Ryan lowered his eyes. Actually, he had talked about it with Henry and Takato yesterday. Surprisingly it had been Takato who had wondered whether or not it should be brought up at all since, as Henry had pointed out, the data in his body was fragmenting and posed no threat to him. Henry had a different opinion since, as long as it was there, there was a possibility that it still might remain a threat to him, and hence to others as well. In the end it was decided to leave that decision up to Ryan unless something came up where it did become a problem. On the topic itself, Ryan was still a little confused. He thought that he should say something, but he had only known these kids for a short time. True, they had offered Ryan and Chris their support, unconditionally mind you, but just how much could he trust them?

It was rather ironic that it was Rika who came to his rescue on the subject.

"Lay off Kazu. If the kid doesn't want to get into it, then he doesn't have to get into it. Besides, if it was important I'm sure Henry's dad would have said something."

She had been eyeing Henry and Takato as she said that. To Henry's credit, he met the fiery girl's eyes without flinching, as though this was nothing more than a regular conversation and the fate of the world didn't hang in the balance. Takato on the other hand…

Rika watched as the goggle-wearing boy cast his eyes to the ground.

_Oh yes,_ she thought. _He knows something…_

But t wasn't something that she was going to bring up right now. Not with the dimwit duo around. She could understand not wanting to share information, even though she felt a little insulted at being kept out of the loop. Well, Rika was sure that they had their reasons, but she thought that, as friends, there was an understanding that nothing should be kept hidden like this. Even Ryo understood this mode of thinking, even if he didn't always follow through on it.

Rika frowned slightly as she picked up her own deck and began shuffling. Just _where was_ the errant Legendary Tamer? He hadn't shown up today, but then it's not like he had to. There were times where she almost wished that the kid was around, if only to provide some measure of amusement, though his personality was such that she could only take his presence for a small amount of time. Of course, with Kazu and Kenta around, Ryo must have thought the same thing with them and felt the need for a break.

_I guess he __**can**__ be sensible,_ thought Rika with a small smile.

* * *

Around noon the kids decided to break up and head home to get some much needed food. Henry and Ryan went off in one direction while Chris, Kenta, and Kazu went off in another (Chris and Kenta had become rather fast friends with Kazu being part of the pakge). Takato had just finished packing up his cards and was about to head off with Guilmon when Rika stopped him.

"Hold on, Gogglehead," Rika said with a tone of authority in her voice. At another time, Takato would have frozen at the sound, but he was long used to Rika's personality and as such no longer bothered as much with that reaction. Unless that is, she got angry…

"Uh… yeah Rika?"

"Spill it. What's going on with that Ryan kid?"

Takato blinked.

"What do you mea…?"

Rika's eyes narrowed suddenly, and Takato immediately shut up. He honestly wasn't sure what Rika wanted, but he had a suspicion. Fortunately Rika decided to take the time to clarify her question.

"The tests Gogglehead," Rika said almost icily. "As much as I hate to admit it, Kazu's got a point. Why _does_ Henry's dad keep performing those dumb tests of his? I thought Ryan got a clean bill of health?"

"He did," said Takato a little nervously. "It's just…" Takato swallowed nervously. How was it that Rika always made him feel small? "… It's… just that, according to Mr. Wong, Ryan's got some data still in him from when he merged with his partner. He just wants to make sure that it's not doing anything to him."

Rika put her hands on her hips and glared at Takato. "And _when_ were you going to clue me in on this little scheme that you and Henry cooked up? Don't give me that look! I know that he's in on it!"

"Ah…" Takato sweated and felt his face heat up. Man he hated being interrogated by Rika. "…Well, we sorta figured that we'd leave that job up to Ryan unless it _did_ become a problem. It doesn't seem to be doing anything so we sorta figured that would be the best way to go about it…"

Rika just shook her head sadly.

"After all that talk about friendship back when we first met. Can't believe that I'm having to spout the same rhetoric to you. I should probably give Henry a piece of my mind as well."

"Sorry," said Takato as he hung his head in shame. "I… _we_ shouldn't have kept it from you. Any of you."

"Hmmph. you'd better be sorry," said Rika as she folded her arms across her chest. "I should probably pound you for keeping this from me…"

Tkato tensed but stood his ground. Technically he _did_ have it coming.

"…But I won't."

Takato resisted the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. Rika wasn't done talking.

"But just so you know, you owe me big for this Gogglehead."

Takato felt a little confused, much in the same way as he did when he had sent a letter to Rika's family to keep them from worrying when the group had been separated. Takato tilted his head to one side, wondering why she wasn't going to throttle him.

"Um… thanks?"

"Whatever. Where're you going now?"

"Well… uh… I was thinking of going down to Jeri's place after lunch with Guilmon." Rika nodded. Jeri had phoned Rika earlier to tell her that she wasn't going to be able to show up because she had to help her parents with their restaurant.

"Okay," said Rika as she prepared to leave. "Tell Jeri I said _hi_."

"Actually…" began Takato. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along. I'm sure Jeri would like to see you today. Aside from the park you don't… um… usually see her."

Rika thought about this for a second. It was true that she didn't normally see any of the others outside of the park. There were of course, a few brief incursions with Jeri to the mall, but that wasn't really her sort of thing. And besides, it would be nice to see Jeri again, and somewhere _other_ than at Rika's home or the park. It presented a chance to see what she did in her spare time. Rika smirked.

"Sure. Why not? I'd hate to miss the opportunity to watch you trip all over yourself around her."

Takato blushed insanely deep and hung his head.

"Ah geez… is it _that _obvious?"

Not bothering to answer, or give an indication that she had heard, Rika grabbed the boy by the arm and proceeded to drag him down the sidewalk.

"Come on, Gogglehead."

In the girl's mind, Rika swore that she heard Renamon chuckling.

* * *

9 


	14. Memory of the Beast King

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter 13: Memory of the Beast King

Leomon landed on a rooftop with a grunt, pausing to take a look around the terrain. The giant, lion warrior had taken to exploring the city again once it had become clear that Jeri would be a while with her choirs. He had told her that he would return in about an hour to check up on her and so she had given him her blessings. Leomon was a bit surprised that she was so willing to let him out of her sight, seeing as how he _died_ after all, and given the amount of attention that she had showered on him when they had first met in the park so long ago, one would think that she wouldn't want to let him out of her sight, especially after so short a time had passed after being reunited. But she let him go with a soft smile and her blessings, as though she had all the faith that she needed that he would come back to her. Perhaps this was because of the fact that he had, basically, returned to her, coming back from the dead in order to do it (though how this came to be still baffled him), or maybe it had more to do with her experiences from the D-Reaper crisis that she had told him about during the brief time that he had come back to Shinjuku. Leomon frowned. That was something that bothered him. That his _death_ had had such a drastic affect on the girl that she had come within inches of completely giving up on herself. That, and some previous experiences in her life, the death of her real mother from when she was very young…

Leomon could imagine that his dying made things any easier for her. Regardless, whatever she had gone through during the D-Reaper invasion, it had brought her out of the depression that she had sunk into (having gotten the story from his partner, piece by piece since he had been _reintroduced _to the girl), and it had given her a new self-confidence, rivaling how she was when they first met. In many ways it was almost as if a veil had been lifted and she was now more eager to experience life. Perhaps some of it was facilitated by his return, but it was clear that her sense of change and self-worth had been an ongoing process long before he had reentered her life.

And because of that, Leomon was proud of her.

But things of that nature aside, we must now come to the reason for Leomon's pausing on this particular rooftop.

The beast-warrior had spent a lifetime fighting in the digital world, and as a result he had a lifetime's amount of accrued experience in detecting possible sources of danger. As those sources were more often digimon than not, he had learned to detect the presence of his digital brethren no matter who or what they were, and whether they were a threat to his being.

Such was the case now.

With a low growl Leomon's hand caressed the hilt of his sword as his eyes continued to scan the area, finally settling on a power generator unit. On it stood a small, black, impish creature with a pale face, a red bandana wrapped around his neck with matching gloves covering his hands, and a cruel smiley face emblazoned on his chest. A smug look graced his face as he gave Leomon the once-over. Leomon did likewise. After a moment, the dimunitive digimon finally spoke.

"Interestin'," he said. "You look just like him. Gotta say, I'm certainly impressed, and it takes a lot to impress someone like me. I'm curious, how'd you manage it? The whole look I mean? Couldn't have been easy."

"What do you mean?" Growled Leomon, his hand never leaving his sword. "Who are you?"

"I can see that you don't remember me," said the dark creature as he hopped off of the generator. "The name's _Impmon_. I'm sure that you've heard one of the Tamers throw that name around, but just in case your memory needs joggin', then perhaps this will help…"

Leomon suddenly tensed as the creature that had identified himself as Impmon suddenly glowed and grew in height. As the lightshow died down Leomon found himself face to face with one of the last beings he had fought prior to meeting Ryan and Chris.

"Beelzemon…"

Leomon fell back into a defensive stance, drawing his blade from its sheath in one smooth motion, faster than the eye could see, and growled menacingly at the Mega Demon Lord, preparing himself to fight and die. Again.

Instead of attacking as expected, Beelzemon just raised his claws in a placating gesture.

"Take it easy there. I'm not here to fight. Quite the opposite in fact. I want to talk."

Leomon narrowed his eyes, not relaxing his stance.

"About what?"

"You."

Leomon blinked.

"Tell me something, _Leomon_," said the ex-Demon Lord. "What were the last words that you said to me, right before I… _killed…_ you."

Leomon met Beelzemon's gaze carefully, not sure why this being who had once been his enemy was asking him about this, or why he wasn't attacking him yet. Though Jeri had told him about Beelzemon trying to rescue her, risking his own life for her in the battle against D-Reaper, the lion digimon was suspicious of his intentions for doing so. Perhaps he had nothing to worry about, especially since he got a sense of honesty and trust, as well as nerves, from Beelzemon about how this meeting could go down. Digimon could change, this was true (he himself was proof of that, and the same could be said for Rika and Renamon) but the last time he had laid eyes on Beelzemon the Viral Mega had impaled him with his claws and was threatening the children. Oh well. Might as well humor him. Leomon's mind went back to that dreadful day, and the battle between the two of them slowly came to mind.

"I told you that you were being used, and I asked you if the power you were given was worth keeping just to harm the children."

"Beelzemon nodded.

"Interestin' that you remember dat," the Demon Lord said. Leomon raised an eyebrow.

"Why is that? I was there when we fought."

"Yeah. But how did you come back?"

Leomon felt something tense up inside of him. Beelzemon had struck a cord. Being a digimon of the southern quadrant he knew perfectly well that death for a digimon was more often than not final. Digimon, particularly the ones that were power hungry like Beelzemon (or as he _had_ been) were all for gathering data, and Beelzemon especially when they had fought had not been the type to let free data escape his grasp if it offered him strength, ruling out the possibility of his reformatting after death, and he knew that he _had _died. Hadn't he felt the pain of Beelzemon's claws piercing him? Hadn't he felt his body slowly disintegrate while the horrified face of his partner, Jeri, filled his darkening vision? His last words trying to comfort the girl, offer some solace for her in the wake of his passing so that she could move on. The same words that he had always told her…

"Lion heart…" whispered Leomon.

Beelzemon gave a start at the use of those words. He had heard them leave Leomon's lips the day he had killed the warrior, and he had heard talk about it every now and then for months ever since. It was Leomon's way for describing the inner strength that Jeri had in her heart, and very, _very_ few people outside of the Tamers group knew about it.

And because of this, Beelzemon was disturbed.

_Just who is dis guy?_ The Demon Lord wondered. Before he had been certain that this wasn't Leomon, and that it was just another claiming to be the Tamer's dead comrade. Yet somehow this _Leomon_ knew things that he shouldn't. Things that he couldn't. And there was a look in his eyes… a look of nostalgia. Of treasured memories.

_I don't know how dis is possible, but for some reason I'm almost convinced dat he __**is**__ da real deal. And dat's not possible._

As Beelzemon looked Leomon over, his three eyes widened as, for a brief instant, he thought that he saw a trail of gold energy trace its way across Leomon's body. He couldn't be sure, since he had seen nothing more than a glimpse of it. It could have been a trick of the sun, but somehow, deep in his digital heart, the sense of familiar data coursed through Beelzemon's body, in tune with the rest that lay buried within, and the Demon Lord wondered.

_Who __**is **dis guy?_

* * *

As Beelzemon was thinking that thought, someone else was having similar lines of thoughts. Ryan trudged alongside Richoemon, Henry, and Terriermon, both boys drawing looks from various passersby as they made their way through the streets of Shinjuku. At another time, Ryan would have worried about the attention that their partner digimon was garnering them despite the time that he has had to get used to the idea that digimon had become more or less an accepted fact of life in the real world. His brow furrowed in thought, Ryan's attention was instead more focused on the puzzle that was Leomon, the digimon that had appeared out of the blue and gave them aid in a battle against an Okuwamon, had known the Digidestined and had even _died_ for them at one point. How he had come back was something of a mystery, and after a brief talk with him at the St. Jude's hospital three days ago, he had apparently known some things that he had been holding out on him and Chris during their time together in the digital world. 

_Ahuramon's Shadow…_

That name still made Ryan wonder. Just _what_ exactly was it? And how did Leomon know it? He had said that he had heard of it while traveling in the digital world, which he supposed made sense. Anything could have happened during the time before that they had hooked up and one word or a rumor could have made its way to Leomon's ears.

_But still_, thought Ryan. _When Chris had asked what the deal was with the Mammothmon… he claimed that he didn't know what it was. My memory may be a bit choppy from everything that's happened to me, but I'm __**positive **__that's what he said. Did he just not remember at the time? Or did he lie?_

Ryan let out a light sigh, realizing that too much time had passed since he had last seen his traveling companion. Three days _was_ quite a lot of time but things had been busy. When he had been making bread with Takato yesterday, the kid had mentioned something about Jeri planning some sort of _welcome back_ party, but so far nothing definite was set. And with the tests that Janyu was making him go through to make sure that the data trapped in his body was continuing to dissipate, and with Yamaki trying to get in touch with his and Chris's parents over in the states, he felt more inclined to stay close to the area of Hypnos in case he or Chris received word on a new development. Truth be told, Ryan was looking forward to going back home. He wasn't sure precisely how he would explain Richoemon to his family, but if everything that he's seen and heard so far was true with the publicity of the Tamer's adventures, then he should have a relatively easy time with that. He just hoped that his life would settle down soon and return to some semblance of normalcy and that he could leave his strange adventures behind him. The Tamers seemed like a rather capable bunch to handle the fallout…

Even as Ryan thought that, a tug that could only be described as his conscience told him that he couldn't very well just leave everything in the hands of the Tamers just because he was back in the real world and they already had the experience necessary to combat wild digimon. The strange _Wild Ones_ that had popped up recently, the Apemon and the Snimon, were beyond anything that the Tamers had already encountered. There was something strange going on in the digital world, and he and Chris seemed to be at the center of it all, though for the life of him Ryan couldn't figure out why that was.

_Maybe it has to do with our digivices,_ thought Ryan, his hand reaching over to the device that was strapped to his hip. _I mean, they are a different model from the Tamers, and if what half of Chris and the others have told me is true, there's a good chance that they may be more different than just their difference in design. I…_

"Hey," spoke up Terriermon from his spot on Henry's shoulder. "What's with the face?"

"Huh?" Ryan said, a little startled with having his concentration broken in such a manner.

"Well it just looked like you were thinking hard about something, and I was a little worried that you might strain your brain doing that. It looked like it was only a matter of time before smoke started coming out of your ears…"

"Terriermon…" groaned Henry, his eyes staring up at the sky as though beseeching the heavens for an answer as to why he was partnered up with such a rambunctious digimon. The mouth on his partner has landed the long eared rabbit dog in more trouble than was healthy. That fight with Gorillamon from almost a year ago was an excellent example of that.

"What? Come on! This guy thinks a lot, almost as much as you and that can't be healthy. I mean, having one Henry is bad enough, but _two_…?"

"Better watch it bunny-boy," said Ryan, frowning at the long eared digimon. "One of these days someone's going to send you to the moon if you keep talking like that."

Terriermon giggled.

"I take back what I said, Henry. Ryan at least has a sense of humor, and says things other than _Terriermon_ to me. I still think that we should expand your vocabulary…"

"Terriermon…" said Henry, exasperation clear in his voice. Terriermon smiled, and even Ryan grinned a little at that.

_Walked right into that one didn't he?_

"I guess Terriermon has a point though," said Henry, turning to look at Ryan as they continued to walk down the streets.

"Don't I always?" Giggled Terriermon. Henry, Ryan, and Richoemon ignored him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Lots of things," said Ryan. "Mostly about the things that I experienced when I was in the digital world."

"I'll bet that he was thinking about his encounter with the Chuumon and the Sukamon," chuckled Terriermon, raising one hand to his mouth in an attempt to hide his smile. Ryan glowered at the rabbit.

"Terriermon…" Ryan growled, making an eerie approximation of Henry's tone of voice whenever he got irritated with his partner.

"Sheesh. Sounds like someone else needs a lesson in speaking too. Come on, Ryan! I'm only curious about what happened! That's the _one_ story that Chris didn't tell us back when he gave us your back story, and each time someone mentions it you get all flustered and angry, and dodge the subject the way people avoid poisonous snakes, real or digital! I just want to know!"

"Terriermon. If he doesn't want to tell us, then you shouldn't push him."

"You're no fun…"

"I never said I was. You going to come down to my place now Ryan, or are you going to stop by at Hypnos first and see my dad?"

Ryan gave a watchful glare at Terriermon before answering Henry's question.

"I was thinking about stopping by Hypnos first, get another batch of tests over with and check and see if Yamaki has any new information on my and Chris's parents. After that, I'm open to suggestions."

Henry nodded.

"I'll walk you there."

Ryan smiled and nodded.

"Thanks."

The group traveled in silence for a few minutes. Then Terriermon spoke up.

"So… will you tell me now?"

"Zip it," said Ryan with a touch of irritation in his voice.

"You know, based on what little information that I already have, and the context that it's in, I can guess as to what happened."

"And I'll neither confirm or deny whatever guess that you have."

"Either way, if it's what I'm thinking, you certainly attract the strangest relationship prospects. Who's next? Rika?"

Ryan stiffened and glared at Terriermon.

"Not even if my life depended on it," he said quickly.

"Terriermon…" began Henry warningly. Terriermon sighed in defeat.

"I'll be shutting up now…"

"Smartest thing he's said all day," muttered Ryan.

* * *

"Here's the final information that you've requested sir," said Rileyy as she handed a file to Yamaki. Yamaki opened the folder and thumbed through the papers that it contained. 

"Thank you Riley," said Yamaki, placing the folder and its contents on his desk and began to analyze them in detail while Reilly waited for his response and his next batch of orders. Not that it mattered. The first page told him all that he needed, but he wanted to know the details of the research and how the officials in charge of it had come to this conclusion, and so quickly. At the top of the first page in the file, stamped on the image of a brown haired boy with green eyes, red t-shirt and a green, unbuttoned shirt over it, was the answer to Yamaki's question, which in turn only created more questions.

Ryan McCabe

No file found

"Riley," said Yamaki after a few moments. "When Ryan comes in for his tests with Janyu, have him sent to my office immediately."

"Yes sir," said Riley with a nod of her head.

* * *

"MOM! DAD! I'M HOME!" Called out Takato as he opened the side door to his home that also served as his parents business and stepped inside, Guilmon, Rika, and Renamon joining him within seconds. As they took off their shoes Rika took a look around. It had been a while since she was last over at Takato's house. The last time she was there had been back during the D-Reaper crisis when they had fixed themselves bread for their breakfast. Now that she thought of it, she rarely went over to any of her friend's homes. Usually they were content to either hang out at the park or at her place. 

_I should do stuff like this more often,_ thought Rika. _Though I doubt that I'd want to spend a single moment at Kazu's place. Kid's so annoying… Still, this is… different. A little small now that I think about it, but kind of nice._

"Hey kiddo," said Takahiro, smiling as he poked his head through the doorway that led into the Bakery's kitchen. "Hey Rika."

" 'Morning Mr. Matsuki," said Rika with a slight nod at Takato's father.

"So what're you kids up to?"

"I just stopped by to get something to eat," replied Takato. "After that we'll be heading down to Jeri's for a little bit."

Takahiro grinned knowingly at the goggle wearing boy and Rika eyed Takato with amusement, wondering what his reaction was, but was a little disappointed that Takato took it without batting an eye. Oh well. Maybe he was just too thick headed to notice right away that even his father was aware of his crush on the puppet-loving girl known as Jeri Katou.

"All right," said Takahiro. "Just don't take too long okay? Your mom's climbing up the walls from the amount of business that we've been getting lately, and she could probably use you at the cash register later."

"Sure Dad," said Takato as he headed towards the kitchen, looking over his shoulder at Rika as he went. "You want anything Rika?"

"Might as well," said the red haired girl as she followed the boy with Renamon and Guilmon in tow, Guilmon a little bit more energetically than the kitsune digimon at the prospect of getting food in his stomach, already making excited noises about bread and preparing to sing his favorite bread related song. The one that went _'a loaf of bread shaped like my head'_.

_Some things never change,_ thought Rika, as she watched _Dino boy_ rush towards the kitchen with a small measure of amusement at his childish antics.

* * *

The sounds of pots and pans crashing filled the now chaotic atmosphere of the kitchen as Takato dumped a steaming pot into the sink with the urgency of a fire fighter while behind him at the kitchen counter. Rika chuckled at the scene, but her mouth was too full to make a comment on the boy's apparent clumsiness in the kitchen. Next to her Renamon sat, calmly watching the situation unfold. Guilmon just sat on the floor, munching on his piece of Guilmon bread, long used to the little things that Takato and his family did around the kitchen. Digging through the cupboards, Takato brought out a plate and began to pile up food on it. 

"I was starting to think that you didn't make or eat anything else besides bread," said Rika sarcastically as she finished swallowing some ramen noodles that consisted of her lunch. As Takato sat down across from her with his own plate of food, he gave a nervous, lopsided grin.

"Heh, heh. With the amount of bread that Guilmon eats it seems to be all that we make nowadays. But then, we _do_ live in a bakery…"

"I think you went and took my joke a little to literally," said Rika, smirking a little at the boy as she dug into her noodles again. Takato blushed lightly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Anyway," said Rika. "What has Jeri been up to lately? I've noticed that she hasn't been around all that much, and I know that you were talking about her having a party of sorts to welcome him back…"

"Oh, yeah!" Said Takato, bobbing his head up and down in acknowledgement. "She's making it official tonight, but everything won't be ready until tomorrow. She said something about _'wanting the cake to be just right'_."

"She's baking a cake, huh? I'm surprised that she didn't ask you to do it."

"Well," began Takato, smiling a little at his own food as he remembered the last time he had talked to the girl. "I _did_ offer to bake it for her, but she said though she appreciated it she wanted to do it on her own. It's supposed to be a gift from the heart. I just wish that there were something that I could do to help. I mean, baking is kind of my field of specialty…"

"Practically the only thing that you're good at," muttered Rika with a small smile, earning her a light glare from the goggle-wearing Tamer, but he said nothing. That job was left instead to Renamon.

"Rika!"

"All right, all right," said Rika, rolling her eyes. "I just hope that he doesn't act any worse than this around Jeri. I'd hate to see her get embarrassed by Gogglehead."

"Ahhh…" stammered Takato, blushing a little.

"What's the matter Takato?" Rika teased, noticing the ever-increasing redness of his face. "Did your goggles cut off the circulation to your brain or something?"

_Sheesh. Can't I just eat in peace?_

But before Takato could say anything in response to the girl's question, or Rika could continue with her bantering, Guilmon spoke up in between mouthfuls from his place on the floor.

"Nope. Takato always changes colors when he's around Jeri or thinking about her. Terriermon likes to make fun of it all the time and calls Jeri his _dream girl_."

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the kitchen became tense as the use of the words _dream girl_ began to settle in on the two children, reminding them of that moment when they had met in the alley almost a year ago. Takato had used them after he had left Rika's home as a kind of joke, and needless to say, Rika didn't react well to them. Rika glanced first at Guilmon with a look of annoyance and then at Takato to see what his reaction was, and annoyance turned to cool amusement as she saw the boy flinch and start to become a little agitated, his face reddening a little more, though this time for different reasons. Rika smirked. A year ago she probably would have made good on her promise to _send him to dreamland_ over this subject, but she had since come a long way from those days. She had nearly forgotten about that dream that Takato had, and now just as she was then wasn't sure what to make of it. But that didn't preclude her having any fun at Takato's expense because of it.

Renamon eyed her partner carefully, wondering what she was planning, and frankly feeling a little worried by Rika's expression. The only thing that kept her from intervening at this moment was the knowledge that Rika was no longer the cold, untrusting, merciless girl that she had been when she first met Takato and Henry. They were all friends now, and Rika had opened up quite a bit since then. That alone granted Takato some measure of safety, so Renamon decided to sit back and see how Rika would play this one out. Besides, she too found Takato's reactions a little amusing, even though the subject matter still caught her curiosity from time to time.

"_Dream girl,_ huh?"

Takato's reactions were starting to remind Rika of a cornered rabbit. Only with goggles and a tomato colored face.

"Uhhh…" was Takato's only response while Guilmon nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah. But that can't be right," said the crimson lizard, tapping his chin thoughtfully, completely unaware of how the situation was making his partner uncomfortable. "Didn't Takato say that you were his dream girl?"

Renamon chuckled under her breath as she took a look at her partner. Rika's eyes had widened slightly in surprise, and now this time a light, pink tinge colored her cheeks and she looked away from Takato and down at her bowl of noodles, trying to get a hold of herself. Takato, in the meantime, took no notice of this as he finally gave in to panic and whirled on his partner.

"AAAH! GUILMON!"

Guilmon's ears drooped.

"Ohhh… What'd I do?"

"Ahhhggg… Guilmon…" Takato's shoulders sagged in defeat. It was too late. The damage was done. All that was left now was for Rika to explode in anger (or at least insult him), but as he risked a nervous glance at the girl he was surprised to see that she was looking… well… about as uncomfortable as he was feeling right now. And that only made him more nervous. He hadn't seen her like this since that day down in the tunnels during the D-Reaper invasion when he had commented on her new shirt.

_Okay Matsuki. Take it easy. Deep breaths here_…

Coughing nervously, Takato tried to speak in an attempt to break the tension that had settled over the table.

"Um… so… uh…" Takato rubbed the back of his head, searching for inspiration and failing. "… This is… awkward…"

_Ohhh… great job at breaking the tension._

Rika's eyes narrowed as her face became just a little bit more red, but still not by much. Crossing her arms, Rika _hmmphed_ before fixing Takato with a glare.

"You haven't told anyone about that stupid dream of yours have you?"

Takato suddenly blanched. This conversation was not going where he'd like it to go.

"Ahhh…"

Rika's glare darkened.

"_Have you_?" She reiterated, adding a menacing tone to her voice this time.

Takato's face felt like it was on fire.

_Why's this keep happening to me?_

"AH! No! No! I haven't told anyone about… _that_. Besides, you told me not to and I don't have a reason to say anything anyway sooo…"

Takato's voice trailed off as he looked at her face for any sign whether or not that the conversation was going to die or he was. Rika sighed as she closed her eyes, her face seemingly becoming thoughtful. They sat in silence for a moment longer, and Renamon had to wonder just what was going through Rika's mind. Once that moment was over, Renamon got her answer.

"Have you ever thought about what that dream meant, Takato?"

Takato scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Um… well, not as much as I did when we first met. A lot's happened since then and I didn't really have time to think about it. But… why are you bringing it up, Rika? I thought that you'd be the last person to want to…"

Rika glared at him.

"You got something better, Gogglebrain? We're not exactly doing much right now, and Dino boy just _had_ to say that _dream girl_ line, which was _your_ fault to begin with by the way…"

"Sorry…" said Takato apologetically. Rika just snorted.

"Whatever. I'm half tempted to drop the subject but we never did figure out why you had that dream."

"Um…" Takato shifted in his seat, his heart pounding away in his chest. "Well… this may sound stupid but back when we were in the digital world to rescue Calumon, Henry, Terriermon, and I met Mr. Mizuno and… uh… he said that our… um…" Takato shifted once again, feeling _extremely_ nervous about what he had on his mind. What Shibumi had said at the time. He had never made the connection between the Monster Makers explanation and the dream before, but now that he thought about it…

Rika folded her arms in impatience.

"Gogglehead…"

Takato cringed.

"But… it just sounds so… so _weird_!" Said Takato, hoping that that explanation alone would be enough for Rika to want to change the subject. He looked at Rika, hoping that she was willing to do just that, however such was not the case. The expression on her face was more than enough to force the rest of what he had to say out of him as his shoulders sagged.

"Mr. Mizuno…" Takato swallowed. He was sure that he was going to sound like a complete and total idiot now. Rika was going to be justified and knocking him on the ground for sure this time. "…Mr. Mizuno said that our digivices are supposed to…" Takato took a deep breath. "… To _bring together like-pairs_…"

Takato's face was bright red, and he waited for Rika to say something. Anything. Even if it was in anger. But instead, Rika just sat there, looking a little stunned at the boy. A million thoughts flew through Rika's mind. She didn't doubt what Takato had said. Just as she didn't doubt the validity of the dream that he said that he had about her. He had no reason to lie then or now, but the question was what was she going to do about it?

_This… feels awkward,_ thought Rika, all of a sudden hating the silence that was pervading the room. _He's right. That did sound weird. What am I supposed to make of that? What am I supposed to say to that? Never thought that I'd say this, but… I could really use some help here…_

As if in answer to the girl's request, Guilmon belched, and all attention was turned to the red dinosaur with stunned surprise. Guilmon blinked at his friends who were sitting at the kitchen table, wondering why Takato and Rika were both blushing, and why Renamon was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Um… excuse me?" Guilmon said tentatively.

"Yes, you are," said Renamon flatly.

* * *

Ryan and Henry both entered Yamaki's office, having been ushered up there as soon as they had entered the Hypnos building and checked themselves in. Sitting down in the chairs across from the head of the Hypnos agency, they waited for the man to say something as he flipped through a file one last time before finally closing it and looking up at Ryan. 

"Thank you for coming," Yamaki said in the same cool, measured voice that he almost always had. "I have some information that you might find interesting…"

_Why do I get the feeling that __**interesting**__ is not how I'm going to view it…_ thought Ryan, trying to ignore the tension that was growing in his heart.

* * *

12 


	15. Nobody

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter 14: Nobody

Ryan's mind reeled, and the boy blinked his green eyes in response to what Yamaki had just told him, hoping that he had misheard the man. Next to him, Henry, Terriermon, and Richoemon did likewise. After what felt like an eternity, Ryan opened his mouth and spoke. What he said, though perfectly predictable in a situation like this, was also understandable.

"Would you mind repeating what you just said?"

Yamaki sighed.

"I'm sorry, but our initial investigation hasn't yielded any results that can be of any help to you. As far as the U.S. government is concerned, there is no one of your description by the name of Ryan McCabe, and the same goes for your friend Chris."

Yamaki glanced at the file once again before looking up at Ryan, his eyes analyzing the boy as he prepared to deliver the next bit of information.

"There are adults ranging from ages twenty-four to seventy-eight with your name, but no children even remotely in your age group. There doesn't seem to be any indication of the existence of your home town…" Yamaki glanced down again. "…_Greensborough_ in any of the records that the American government has on the state of Illinois."

Ryan shifted in his seat and his mouth opened in protest, but nothing seemed to come to mind immediately, so his mouth closed with an audible _click_ and he settled back down in the chair as the full impact of Yamaki's news began to hit home for him.

_No information… no records… but… how…? Why…? That… that can't be right! Can it? No. It can't be! I've grown up in that town all my life! Why aren't there any records?!_

While Ryan continued to process the information, Terriermon and Henry, finally recovering, joined in on the conversation.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Terriermon from his spot on Henry's shoulder. "But are you saying that Ryan here _made up_ everything that he told you? Er… no offence to you Ryan, buddy."

Henry glanced at his partner with a slightly annoyed look before looking over at the brown haired boy that was sitting next to him. Ryan was being awfully quiet, and there was a look in his eyes that was a mixture of confusion and anger, _not_ directed at Terriermon, but was rather focused _inward_.

"Are you sure about this, Yamaki? I mean, it's only been a few days since you sent out the request for that information, so you know that these things can take quite a bit of time…"

Yamaki nodded.

"I've already thought of that, so I requested that a second search be made just to be sure. Given that Ryan and Chris are also Tamers I'm starting to think that Hypnos should also lend its resources in this, but with the arrival of those new digimon we have to monitor the net and make sure that there are no more Wild Ones trying to get through. For now, we should leave this to the American government."

"Are they planning on taking Ryan and Chris into federal custody?"

Yamaki shook his head.

"I already headed them off on that. I don't believe that the American government is going to be happy that we aren't going to send them what may be two of their citizens, but as I stated, they have digimon, and Hypnos is the foremost authority on digimon in the world at present. All other international agencies are lacking in research, technology, and funding to properly deal with this situation. That, and Shinjuku tends to be the center of digimon related activity…"

"Wouldn't that make it a _bad_ idea then to keep them close to danger?" Asked Terriermon.

"Not necessarily," said Yamaki folding his hands. "As much as I don't like the idea, keeping Ryan," Yamaki nodded to the boy, who was frowning at the head of Hypnos. "And his friend close to our resources enables us to move faster, and if there's a digimon threat that's coming after them and threatening our world as well, then they might prove to be a valuable resource."

Ryan glowered.

_Resource? Is that what we are now?_

"But… what about home?" Asked Ryan in a harsh voice that was barely above a whisper. Ryan closed his eyes, trying to find some sense of stability, but all he was feeling was that his world was beginning to spiral out of control. He was holding out hope that there was some kind of goof up, and that information had just been mixed up or something, and he held onto this belief with a stubbornness that would have put even Rika to shame, grasping onto it as though it were his only lifeline in this city that was so far away from the place that he called his own.

"I'm sorry Ryan," said Yamaki, turning his attention to the boy. "But until we know something more, you and your friend are going to have to wait here a little bit longer."

Ryan gripped the chairs arms and took a steady breath. In. And out. No big deal right? Yeah, there probably was just a mix up and that the information would be checked and double-checked, and pretty soon he and Chris would be on the next plane back home. Back to Greensborough. What was Yamaki talking about? _Greensborough not existing?_ Of course it did! He lived there! His father, mother, and sister lived there, even if they weren't together…

Ryan shook his head.

"It's just… I was hoping that Chris and I could go home soon, and…" Ryan sighed. There wasn't anything that he could do that could change how the dice rolled this time around. Yamaki was right. All he could do was just wait and see what happened.

"I understand your desire to return to a normal life," said Yamaki. "But unfortunately with everything that's happening, you, your friend, and your digimon partners are going to be needed to get to the bottom of what's going on. Digimon have followed you here, two of them that Chris had described as having been pursuing you in the digital world appear only one day after your arrival, and at the same time you are attacked by a digimon that had data algorithms in it similar to what remains in your body. A digimon with an appearance similar to other digimon that you had encountered prior to your return to the real world…"

As Yamaki spoke, Henry's mind went back to that day in the park, when a Champion level Apemon, a rather _unique_ Apemon so to speak, had stood off four Champions, took two Ultimate level attacks without blinking, and had…

Henry blinked as an image of the Apemon charging towards Ryan after he had passed out. There was something about the way that it had been moving at that time.

_Now that I think about it,_ thought the half-Chinese Tamer as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. _It looked more like it was going after Ryan's digivice when he threw it away from himself. But why? If the Apemon were after the digivice, would it have something to do with my Dad's theory that Ryan and Chris's digivices are alive? What's so important about them that would have a digimon try to steal them? I should probably tell Yamaki about this, but I need to think about it some more, and see what else Dad has to say about those digivices. We know so little about them, and even their owners admit that they don't know a whole lot about them either other than that they're capable of a number of tasks similar to our D-Arcs, only slightly more advanced. _

_We should probably take another look at the data that Dad has on them. I wonder if he's gotten any closer to translating the data._

* * *

"… And that was when Ryo said _'Thanks'_ to me and Guardromon!" Spouted Kazu as he rambled on about another one of the adventures that the Tamers had had before Chris and Ryan arrived. The boy had been telling them ever since Chris had asked about them three days ago, and usually went on to edit or over-dramatize his involvement in the major battles. One example of this had been the infamous _Blue Card_ that Kazu had drawn and colored before the battle against the horse Deva, Indramon, having elevated himself to near godlike status and unmatched artistic prowess that was only shattered when Kenta jokingly claimed that Kazu had just _barely_ made the cut when he had been making it. Pun intended, including the insult about how his coloring skills, though in the lines, were in need of quite a few art classes. Guardromon wasn't exactly helping the boy's case either with the accuracy of his memory banks, causing him to correct his partner every time he went overboard in describing his own self-importance and actions during their adventures in the digital world and during the D-Reaper invasion.

"I mean," continued Kazu as he walked down the streets with his hands behind his head. "Who would have thought that Ryo of all Tamers would say _thanks_ to a guy like me? I guess it's about time that someone recognized my natural talent…"

"Or lack of," joked Kenta before indicating the blonde haired boy that was walking behind them. "But don't you remember that Chris doesn't know about Ryo's reputation the way we do? I mean, we've told him about it and everything, but he had been sucked into the digital world before Ryo really became famous. I think."

"Oh yeah," said Kazu looking over his shoulder. "I forgot about that. Hey! We should see what Ryo's up to and… Whoa!"

Kenta turned his head to see what it was that had stopped his visor-wearing friend in mid-sentence, and then smiled, trying more or less to hold back a laugh. Not that Kazu was making any better effort, far from it in fact, and for good reason. The sight in front of them was just too funny to not laugh. Even Rika probably would have chuckled at it. Well… maybe not chuckled, but she might have smirked. Either that or roll her eyes but that's beside the point. The scene that was causing Kazu and Kenta to crack up had to do with Chris, or rather what was going on with Chris at this moment. Even MarineAngemon couldn't help but giggle and do cartwheels in the air at Chris's rather odd situation.

"You know," said the blue-eyed boy as he tried to remove a certain, white colored, giggling creampuff of a digimon from the top of his head. With a sudden increase in the intensity of the childish guffawing that was emanating from the In-Training's mouth, Calumon tightened his grip on Chris's hair, and the boy winced in pain.

"This is fun," laughed Calumon as he bounced up and down on Chris's head. Kazu and Kenta snickered at the scene.

"Well, we warned ya about having him tag along with us."

"Kazu," said Kenta, trying to restrain his own laughter long enough to sound like he was scolding his friend. He failed miserably. "We didn't… actually… _warn_ him about anything."

"Sure we did. We told him about the food, didn't we?"

"But Kazu, that was Ryan."

"Oh. Right. Oops. My mistake."

"You know," growled Chris. "Instead of simply standing there having fun at my expense you could at least be doing something to help me out here."

"I don't know…" said Caramon, grinning from his spot on Chris's shoulder as he sat up on his hind legs and stretched. "I kind of think that Calumon makes a good… what'd you call it? A _hood ornament?"_

"That's only for cars," grumbled Chris as he tried to pull Calumon off his head again, and this time managed to succeed. Holding the giggling white ball Chris looked at him, wondering just what to do with him. He half considered sticking him back on his head since he seemed capable enough to sit there and not go anywhere, but he had just gone through a lot of trouble getting him off. And besides, he was also starting to get stares from the people around him. Well, more stares than he was already getting anyway.

"Anyway, you were saying something about meeting up with Ryo."

"Yeah," said Kazu, shifting gears once more to what had to be his second favorite subject (the first being the Digimon card game). "Dude, he could probably tell you all sorts of things about the digital world. He was in there for almost a year before we met up with him. He'd do a way better job at teaching you some strategies about handling yourself in a digimon brawl. He may even tell you how he beat Rika at that tournament…"

"_Ahem…_" went Kenta. "As much as I'd like that information too, I think that in the interest of Chris staying alive the next time he plays her in a match, we should probably avoid that subject."

"Phhht!" Kazu waved a hand dismissively. "You're never going to win a game against her with that kind of attitude. I thought that you'd be glad to have an edge against the Digimon Queen."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not have to cheat to have one."

"Pih," said MarineAngemon with a smile and a giggle, to which Kenta smiled back.

"Thanks buddy."

Kazu stared blankly at the duo before looking over at his partner.

"Guardromon? Translation please?"

"I believe he said something meant to elate Kenta's spirits."

"I kind of guessed that," said Kazu. "But how about a more _direct_ translation. Like for example, what he said."

"I didn't digivolve with a translator unit," said Guardromon with a slight look of annoyance at the boy.

"Aren't you supposed to be a machine? An android or something? Isn't this stuff supposed to be built into you?"

"Yes, but I'm not as advanced as _Andromon_…"

Chris sighed and rolled his eyes at the scene before him. Thinking about it he felt that it would be a good idea to head on down to Ryo's place, get in touch with him and see if he could learn anything else about his last trip in the digital world, and about the girl that he had met there. But he'd need something to shut Kazu up for a while in order to get a word in edgewise. He considered bringing up Ryo's name since that seemed to be the usual way of attracting Kazu's attention, but…

Well, he wouldn't have any fun in that.

Chris looked at Calumon and grinned. Calumon spread his ears wide and smiled back.

"Calumon? You see the visor that Kazu's wearing? It's really a Frisbee. Go play with it."

And with that, Chris tossed the small In-training at Kazu just as he looked at Chris, wondering just what the kid was talking about.

"Wha…?" The boy began before jumping backwards. Calumon descended on the hapless boy's head.

"YAAAY! FRISBEE! YAAAY!"

"HEY! NO! DON'T… GUARDROMON! A LITTLE HELP HERE?!"

As Kazu struggled to keep his visor safe from the tiny, giggling monster that had latched onto his head, Chris easily passed by him and smiled.

"So… which way to Ryo's house?"

* * *

Ryan got up from the table, having completed yet another session of tests with Janyu Wong to make sure that the data that remained in his body was behaving and continuing to deteriorate without harming his body as it did so. Ryan's thoughts were mostly not focused on the reasons for the tests, having other things to think about right now. He was thinking about the conversation that he had had with Yamaki, and whatever it might mean for him and Chris. If Yamaki's first investigation into the whereabouts of his family and hometown were true, then where _did_ that leave them? Or rather _where_ did it leave them? The _where_ part felt much more important to him since it seemed rather obvious that having come home, or rather what looked like home to him and Chris, and finding out that there was no home to go back to, they were left with… what exactly? Greensborough… their family… how could the American government not have any information on any of them? They were all registered… they paid their taxes; Ryan's own mother was an executive at a fairly prosperous company that had bases in Chicago.

Just what was going on here? It just didn't make any sense!

_What do I tell Chris? _Wondered Ryan as he got down from off the examination table and reached for his shirt. The answer did seem pretty obvious. Just tell him what he knew and what the leading theory was and leave it at that. Of course, there was the fact that Chris might not take the news well. They had both toughened up some mentally from their time in the digital world, but the fights that they had in the desert were still sore memories to them, even if they both needed them at the time in order to keep going. As close as they had gotten during their adventures, there were some things that they weren't sure about approaching the other with because they weren't sure how the other would react. Of course, Chris had shown himself capable of taking things pretty well since then…

Either way. Ryan would tell Chris. They had gotten this far being honest and open with each other, even before they had gone to the digital world. Ryan saw no reason to discontinue that aspect of their relationship. It wouldn't sit well with him, and Chris wouldn't have liked it either. They had too much respect and history with each other to operate differently.

Ryan snapped out of his thoughts as Janyu began speaking to him.

"Well Ryan, it looks like I have to give you a clean bill of health again. The data is still there, but it's still fragmenting. Doesn't seem to be posing a threat to you so far so it doesn't look like you have anything to worry about."

Janyu gave the boy a soft smile, one that Ryan returned, though it felt more forced to him.

"Thanks for doing this for me, Mr. Wong," said Ryan.

"Sure thing," said Janyu. "Are you going to be staying at my place tonight, or are you going to be at another one of the Tamers?"

Janyu grinned.

"My wife is planning something special for dinner, and Suzie has been asking about your partner…"

Ryan shuddered. Suzie was so far the reason why he had been avoiding the Wong's residence, if only because of the fact that she had tried to dress up Richoemon in what Henry had called _the Princess Pretty Pants _treatment (lord knows why it was called that. It just was). Well, that and the fact that Henry's older siblings tended to ask a lot of questions about him and Chris. Henry's sister, he recalled had been especially interested in hearing about both his and Chris's story, which wasn't bad at first, but somehow Caramon had let it slip about the incident involving Sukamon and Chuumon. No details mind you, but just enough to perk up everyone's curiosity. Not least of all a certain bunny rabbit who had the habit of asking loud, pointed questions and was perfectly capable of dragging up an old subject the way dogs do old bones that they've buried.

Of course, balanced out with Mrs. Wong's cooking (which he had to admit was quite superb), the risks were almost worth it. Given the amount of time that he had spent in the digital world without eating a decent meal, he probably would have gone toe to toe with a Metal Tyrannomon for one of Mrs. Wong's meals, and have tossed in an Etemon just for good measure, but still.

"I'll have to pass on it," said Ryan. "Sorry."

Janyu didn't look put out.

"That's okay. I understand that you've had quite the day so far."

Ryan chuckled.

"Well, it's been one of my more _quieter _days…"

"Even so. I can certainly understand the need for a quiet evening. Some of my kids were quite the handful the last time you and your friend were over as I recall."

"Ahhh… Suzie wasn't that bad," said Ryan, scratching the back of his head. "I have a little sister back home," _if home exists. _Ryan lamented in his mind. "She can be pretty rambunctious herself. I just think that Suzie caught Richoemon by surprise, that's all. Until now, Chris and I were the only humans that he's ever met, and now he's seeing more than he can probably handle all at once. It's going to take some time for him to get used to that."

"Perhaps just as much as it took my family to get used to the idea of digimon," said Janyu with a humorous smile.

Ryan's own smile became a bit more genuine at that, until thoughts of his own family reentered his mind.

* * *

Richoemon sat down in the lobby with Henry and Terriermon, waiting for Ryan to come back downstairs and share the news with them. Richoemon swung his clawed feet nervously as he sat in the chair, looking almost like a little kid in his anxiety rather than the dangerous looking tiger-striped, fire-breathing dinosaur that he really was. He was worried about Ryan. When they had left Yamaki's office after receiving the news about Ryan and Chris's home apparently not existing, and that the same held true for the two boys as well. Richoemon wondered what it would be like to know people, and to have a place to call your own and then find out that none of it was even there, worse yet that it never even _existed_. Richoemon couldn't say that he knew what it was like to have that sort of thing happen to him. He never had a home as far as he remembered, and Chris, Caramon, Ryan, Leomon, and Centarumon were really the first beings that he had made friends with in all the time that he had existed.

Richoemon frowned.

Something tugged at his mind. In all the time that he had traveled with Ryan and Chris, they had always said something about their lives back home, and the years that they had lived there. Now that Richoemon thought about it, he didn't really have that many memories. Nowhere near as many as his friends did, and he had never really had a reason to question that. His first memory in fact revolved around sniffing a yellow flower, right before…

"Will you stop swinging your feet?" Complained Terriermon. "You're making me nervous."

"Terriermon…"

"What? Come on, Henry. I know that he's worried about what Ryan's test result is going to be, we all are. But sheesh! All the other examinations have turned out fine, so why should this time be any different? Richoemon really needs to have more faith in his partner…"

"I'm sure that he's got other things on his mind too, Terriermon," said Henry, glancing over at the striped dinosaur. "I mean, he was there when Yamaki gave Ryan the news…"

"Yeah," said Richoemon. "I am kind of thinking about that. It was making me wonder what it would be like to have that happen to me."

"And?" Prompted Henry, curious what Richoemon's response would be.

Richoemon shrugged.

"I can't really say. I didn't have any friends before I met Ryan. Sometimes I think about how we met, and I can't help but wonder if that moment was preordained or something."

"How did you two meet, exactly?"

"Wasn't anything special really," said Richoemon, staring at his toes. "I just remember…"

"HEY! GUYS!" Called out Ryan as he stepped out of the elevator and walked on over to his three companions. Richoemon hopped down from his seat and ran over to the boy while Henry stood up, Terriermon already wrapped around his partner's neck.

"Took you long enough," said Richoemon and Terriermon at the exact same time, and the two glared at each other before breaking into matching grins. Ryan and Henry did likewise.

"What's the news?" Asked Henry.

"Well," said Ryan. "Your dad says that I get to live another day, which is all very well and good if you ask me. Probably the best news that I've had all day."

"So what do you plan to do now?"

Ryan shrugged and gave the Chinese Tamer a tired smile.

"Nothing special. I was thinking about taking a walk, think things over in my head for a bit before heading down to the Matsuki's Bakery and see what I can do there before packing it in for the evening."

"Thinking about staying there tonight?" Asked Henry with a raised eyebrow. Ryan nodded.

"Your dad already asked me about that, and no offence, but I could do with a quiet day today. And I think Suzie would be a little too much _fun_ for Richoemon to handle as well…"

"That's a fact," said Terriermon. Henry chuckled.

"Well all right. Are you going to be in the park?"

"Most likely. I don't think that I could navigate the city on my own without getting lost. Why?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to my Dad about something, and since you like to take these walks on your own, I figured that if you would be able to handle going out on your own for a bit while I had a word with my Dad. It does concern your digivices though so I'm also curious as to whether or not you would like to stick around."

Ryan thought about it for a bit. He probably should, but he didn't think that he could learn anything that he didn't already know, and he was sure that Janyu would have mentioned it while he was upstairs with him. Besides, he didn't really want to have to sit down and listen to a lot of talk that concerned technology and algorithms. Some of it he could understand, but at a certain point it just flew over his head and all he could do was either ask questions or nod dumbly.

"I know that it would probably be a smart idea for me to do that," said Ryan. "But right now, I really need to clear my head."

Henry nodded.

"That's okay. If anything comes up, I'll be sure to let you know. I'll be going back down to the park later on myself, so if you're going to be there I'll meet you at Guilmon's place. Okay?"

Ryan smiled.

"Sure thing."

* * *

In the depths of the layers of the Internet, a shadowy digimon had begun its race across the networks grid, aiming with all its strength and willpower towards breaking the barriers that separated it from the real world. Its mission was far too important to let something like this, or anything else disrupts it.

Three spheres of energy connected in the form of a triangle began to fly in its direction, and the digimon paused for a moment, as though regarding it as it approached. A second later, data warped and then the energy phenomenon changed direction, completely oblivious to the digital life form that watched it go before resuming its journey. A light that was above him, the light of the real world, shone off of metal that made up its hands.

_Loki will be pleased with me when I find out why Ahuramon's been showing so much interest in this particular world…_ the digimon thought, visions of rewards flashing through its mind.

The digimon cackled, continuing its race.

* * *

A/N: I had wanted to put in some action in this chapter, but after the third page, it didn't seem like the sort of chapter that would have it in it, especially with the length that fight scenes can have, so I separated it, wanting to give the next chapter its own sense of the dramatic before signing off for the night. While not much really happened here, next chapter is guaranteed to have quite a bit going on as yet another player is about to be added to the game. Next chapter should focus some more on Beelzemon and Leomon, have some action in it as well as more character interaction, particularly with the OC's as they try to figure out what exactly is going on and deal with the situations as they arise, though the Canon's will have their fair share of screen time as well (being kind of important to the storyline as well). Later.

-Crazyeight

10


	16. Fear of the Unknown part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter 15: Fear of the Unknown/ Part: 1

Ryo Akiyama stepped out of the train and out into the subway, taking a look around before setting off into the crowd of people, grateful for once that people hadn't taken a look at him long enough to recognize him. There were some disadvantages to being a celebrity in the famous line of commercial products known as _Digimon_, and with the revelation that the world portrayed in both the card game and the television show by the same name actually _existed_, his face had become even more recognizable, especially since his disappearance for a year, to emerge right before the devastating events of D-Reaper, and then later with Parasimon. His face, his image had become almost synonymous with the digital life forms that continued to invade and occasionally threaten the real world, and as a result some people adored him, others who had adored him began to revile him, and still more who had had nothing to do with digimon or just simply didn't care enough about it had begun to sit up and take notice of him. There were times, quite a few of them in fact, where Ryo was envious of the other Tamers who had somehow managed to dodge the publicity that he was receiving, in spite of Hypnos's best efforts. But then, he was a more public figure than the others. The only one who could understand what he went through was Rika, and though she could, at times, be sympathetic and lend a listening ear, she wasn't going to hold his hand through all the tough times that he went through.

_Now __**that**__ would be interesting,_ thought Ryo with a small smile as the mental image of Rika doing just that came to mind._ And kind of nice, come to think of it, but I doubt that she'd do that anyway. Besides, with the kind of things that I've been through both here and in the digital world, I don't think that I need to rely on anyone just to handle a few amorous fans. Or even a few un-amorous. I've got more important things to worry about then my own comfort anyway._

A flash of grayish-blue eyes, and a flicker of dark hair passed through Ryo's mind as he recalled his encounter with the girl who had called herself simply _Raven_. A girl, if he wasn't mistaken, who was searching for the two Tamers that now resided in Shinjuku with the others.He began to wonder just what their purpose was, and about their digivices too. They were strange things, in some ways resembling the Tamers digivices in function as well as in appearance, but at the same time completely different. There were no slots for slashing cards, and they had proven themselves fully capable of handling evolution up to the Ultimate level without any extra data processor, such as the crests from the TV show or the Tamers _Blue Card_, and had also shown themselves able to merge both human and digimon together (from what he remembered from Janyu's explanation, it was to use the human partner to filter out and substitute damaged and corrupt data until that data could be repaired), and that Henry's father, Janyu Wong, had claimed that the digivices had some sort of algorithm similar to a digimon's, making them _alive_ after a fashion. So… _were_ they as alive as any digimon? And what else were they capable of doing? And were they dangerous? Well… okay, Ryo felt that that last question was a little ridiculous sounding, but because he and the others knew so little about them he felt that the question had to be asked. They were an unknown variable, and he had already seen strange digimon entering the real world and engaging these two kids. They had to be important for something. And just what were _Keepers_? He had heard that word being tossed around before, back during the battle with that _Black Knightmon _and _Nightmare Blitzmon_. Now _those_ were, shall we say, _unique_ digimon. He had never seen or heard of them before, and certainly not from any expansion pack that he had seen, and he considered himself _well traveled_ when it came to that sort of thing. At least his digivice had recognized the digimon. Ryo disliked having to go into a battle not knowing anything about his enemies.

_I wonder how that Raven girl is doing,_ thought Ryo as he climbed the stairs leading out of the subway tunnels. _She was pretty determined to continue searching on her own, and now that these two kids showed up… _

Ryo sighed, wondering just how he was going to get in contact with her or bring her home. Unlike the girl he had no easy way of entering or exiting the digital world, and his visits were chaotic at best, and usually were courtesy of a Sovereign like Azulongmon or, as it was in most cases, plain old destiny.

He preferred it when it was Azulongmon. At least then he had a choice and had a way to get home when he was done with business.

_Wish that I could get in touch with Azulongmon as easily as he can with me,_ thought Ryo. _At least then I could ask him to keep an eye out for that girl._

As Ryo exited the subway and entered the busy streets of Shinjuku, his mind wandered back to his most recent experience in the digital world. There had been unusual data anomalies and increased digimon migrations between the worlds, among all quadrants. The Sovereigns were doing what they could to manage the problem, but with the strange anomalies and disturbances in the fabric of digital space, apparently beyond the known boundaries of digital space, there was little that they could do without having the situation dissolve into complete chaos. Which was why they, or rather three of the four Sovereigns (Zhuqiaomon not liking the idea) had summoned Ryo to investigate the matter and, if he could, deal with it. Ryo frowned.

_It's too bad that I didn't find anything useful for Azulongmon before I was forced to go back to the real world. Though I think that news of that girl would have interested him. Too bad that weird storm kicked up when it did. I imagine that she wouldn't have sent me back to the real world if that hadn't started up. I wish that she came back with me though. That storm didn't look all that safe even if she thinks that she can handle herself, and now that we have her two friends here while she's still out searching for them… I should tell the others about this. I mean, most of them already know, to an extent, but I think that we may have to mount a search and rescue mission. How ironic. I wonder if Ryan or Chris know how to contact her family. Since she seems capable of moving in and out of the digital world it would only make sense to get in touch with her folks, especially if she makes frequent trips home to pick up supplies. She did have a bag when I met her…_

Round and round Ryo's thoughts went as he began thinking of a way to help the dark haired girl that he had _rescued_, so to speak, on his last trip through the digital world. It was rather overdue, and perhaps now would be the best time to clue the others in on the full story behind his most recent excursion to the digital world, how he met Raven, her mission, and what Ryan and Chris knew about her. Though the Legendary Tamer would have tried to help her regardless of whether or not she had helped him get home, he felt that he at least owed it to her, and in that sense he was going to do whatever it took to try and bring her back to the real world.

* * *

Rika and Takato walked side by side as they headed down to Jeri's home, shadowed by their two partners Guilmon and Renamon who were doing likewise, watching their partners with a curious gaze. Takato occasionally glanced nervously at the red headed girl that walked next to him before jerking his eyes away and trying to focus on the sidewalk in front of him. Memories of the talk that they had back at his place, his dream and Guilmon's _dream girl_ comment obviously still haunting him and making him edgy around his friend. He wasn't sure how Rika had taken it. Sure, she seemed embarrassed and was probably more than a little irritated, but she had been unusually quiet when they were finishing up their lunch, taking only enough time to say _"at least you're not stalking me"_, as though reminding him of their encounter in the alley when she had asked him why he kept following her around, which he most certainly _hadn't_ been doing, but that was besides the point. What was, was Rika's overall lack of response that was bothering Takato, and when it came to Rika Nonaka, someone who tended to get irritated over the strangest things, this was cause for worry. 

_Just take it easy Takato,_ thought the goggle wearing boy as he tried to force his heart to stop its edgy race in his chest._ Momentai. I mean, this is Rika we're talking about. Sure, she can be a little intimidating, and downright scary from time to time, but she couldn't be angry or anything about what we talked about could she? I was just answering her questions and… well… _Takato paused in his thinking._ Why did she bring up that dream anyway? She didn't like me talking about it the first time I told her about it, and I never brought it up again after that. Besides, it's not like anything came out of it anyways other then that we met and we were both Tamers._

Takato's gaze slid back over to the girl that walked next to him and jerked away once again. Only this time Rika noticed and she turned her violet eyes at Takato and frowned.

"Well? What?" She half asked, half demanded, and Takato had to force himself to not fidget or quicken his pace as his heart rate sped up in fear and his face began to become just a little bit warm.

"Oh… nothing…" stammered the boy as he obstinately tried to stop the conversation from going anywhere that could potentially be dangerous.

Rika eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Takato out of the corner of her eye, suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu at the situation but not really knowing why.

"Mm-_hmm!"_ Scoffed Rika, not believing him one bit. She continued to stare at the boy, as though her glare enough would put enough pressure on the boy for him to crack and spill what was bothering him. He had shown himself to be especially susceptible to that kind of thing in the past and few could get Takato to open up when he was trying to hold something in. Jeri could have done it far more easily though, and in a much softer way given how the boy felt about her, but Rika wasn't Jeri so she had to make do with the tools that she had available to her. Not that she couldn't be soft towards people when she wanted to, it was just that certain people and situations warranted that part of her personality to come out, and though she was like that towards Takato on the rare occasion as they were friends, their friendship was such that the present situation did not allow for that softness to come out.

As they walked, Takato kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, and Rika could tell that he was resisting the urge to look back or say something. The nervousness that danced behind his crimson eyes, and the tension in his motions certainly told her that much.

_You'd almost think that he was around Jeri right now,_ thought Rika sardonically as she began to go over in her mind what it was that could possibly be making her human friend this nervous around her. Not that this was hardly surprising. She tended to make Takato a little nervous around her anyway since she had such a strong and sometimes forceful personality. Everyone had commented on it at one time or another, usually in a negative light but they had to admit that she wouldn't be Rika without that strength, and it definitely came in handy on multiple occasions. But it wasn't like Takato was always like this around her, just when he did something that irritated her, so what was it that was making him act like this now? What had happened _recently_…?

No sooner was the question asked then it was answered, and Rika rolled her eyes at the obviousness of it.

_Can't believe that he's nervous about __**that**__! Well, okay. I did threaten him when he first brought it up but I wouldn't have called us __**friends**__ at that time either. If nothing else we were less than acquaintances, but he should know by now that things have changed between us. He'd have to do something a lot more stupid then have a dream about me to make me hurt him. Sure I'd be irritated, but enough to hurt him? He still has to pull that off._

"All right Gogglehead," said Rika as she came to a halt, crossing her arms as she did so. Looking over his shoulder nervously and blinking in confusion, Takato did likewise.

"Um… what's up, Rika?"

"Not you, that's for sure," said the red haired girl as she stared apathetically at the boy. "Something's bothering you and I want to know what."

Takato rubbed the back of his head and gave his friend a nervous smile.

"I-It's nothing. Really!"

"Has anyone told you what a terrible liar you are, Gogglehead? So spill it already. You better not be worried about that talk we had at lunch or…"

Takato's unconscious flinch told Rika all that she needed to know. Rika sighed.

"Takato… let's just get one thing straight between us. It was _just_ a dream all right? Sure, it's a little weird that you dreamt about me and everything before we actually met in person…" Rika then shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it all that much, and you don't need to worry about talking about it as if our friendship was something fragile and weak. Or are we not friends?"

Takato's face softened and he brought his eyes up to meet Rika's.

"Of course we're friends."

"Then stop acting like I'm going to pummel you every five minutes just because of what we talked about. Not that I want you telling the others of course," Rika said, adding that last part to make sure that there were still some lines that shouldn't be crossed, though the smirk on her face told Takato that at the very least, depending on the circumstances, she'd only be irritated with him if he ever did talk about it with any of the others. "But between you and me, you shouldn't worry about it." Rika's smirk suddenly became mischievous. "_Much."_

"Uh… okay?"

Rika's smirk turned into a smile, and she uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips, cocking her head to one side as she did so.

"Good. Now that that's settled, shouldn't we be going down to Jeri's? I'm pretty sure that our talking about a dream that you had about _me_ is the last thing that Jeri needs to be hearing about when we show up on her doorstep."

Takato's face suddenly adopted a slightly red look to it, and he just stared at Rika blankly, not sure as to what would be the best way to reply to that. Rika rolled her eyes and sighed while behind her, Guilmon turned to look up at Renamon, a look of confusion on his face.

"Now why would Jeri not want to hear about Takato's dream of Rika? I'm sure that she wouldn't mind…"

Renamon looked at the crimson saurian with a look of cool amusement on her face before turning away and chuckling lightly under her breath. Guilmon cocked his head in confusion.

"I don't understand. Why're you laughing, Renamon?

The Kitsune digimon kept her azure gaze on the two Tamers.

"You'll understand when you're a little older, Guilmon…"

"Ohhh…"

Before the four friends could resume their journey, a red, topless sports car pulled up to the sidewalk and a friendly voice hailed them from the driver's seat.

"Hey! Rika! Renamon!"

Rika, Takato, Guilmon, and Renamon all turned to the driver, all except Renamon having looks of surprise on their face at the familiarity in the voice of the car's owner towards them. As Rika's eyes traced up the lines of the vehicle that sat before them before settling on the man who sat in the driver's seat, she nearly frowned in irritation.

"Oh. Hey Tom…" Rika said in a deadpan voice, and Takato's eyes widened even further in surprise.

_This is the guy that Rika's mom has been dating? Whoa…_

The man that sat in the car was of medium build, with long blonde hair and a face that only partially reminded Takato of the way that TK looked at the end of the second season of the Digimon show, only with less emphasis on the character's strong face, and had eyes that were more a light shade of gray rather than that of the blue that the fictional Digidestined character had. He still had the same, easy going smile that TK had though, and it was enough for Takato to feel at ease in his presence, but not entirely so, as he had never met the man before. First impressions were so important. From some of the stories that Rika had told him and Henry about the man who had caught the famous Rumiko Nonaka's eye, he was a decent sort. Rumiko had met him on one of her regular photo shoots, and it seemed as though there was an instant attraction. At least, that was how Rika told it. By her account, they got along well but she was still adjusting to the idea of her mother going out and having a relationship with someone again, especially now after so long of not having a fatherly type figure in her life. She had grown used to being independent, and though she had come to trust her family, Renamon, and her friends more, this was opening up old doors that she thought that she had closed a long time ago and she had to readapt to experiencing certain emotions again, just as she had to back in her early days as a Tamer.

To put it simply, there wasn't going to be an easy road, but it was going to be easier than the last time Rika had to go through this sort of thing.

Tom chuckled at the tone in Rika's voice; it being something that he was now quite used to.

"Nice to see you too, Rika," said Tom in a joking tone before indicating the passenger seat. "I was going off to see your mother when I saw you, and I thought that you might like to see her too…" The blonde haired man cocked an eyebrow at the brown haired, goggle-wearing boy next to her. "…Unless that is you're busy."

"Actually…" Rika trailed off, wondering how she should answer this. On one hand she didn't want to sound disrespectful, especially not to the man that her mother liked, but she also wanted to see what Jeri was up to, having not seen her in a while. Rika felt like kicking herself. She never had any trouble voicing her opinions before around people, especially to those who were close to her, but this she felt was different. How she acted could affect her mother's relationship, and since Tom made her mother happy she didn't want to be the one who was the cause of it ending.

"It's okay Rika," said Takato from next to her, and the girl frowned at him.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Takato stammered a bit, surprised by Rika's outburst, but quickly managed to find the appropriate things that he needed to say to answer his friend.

"Well, I mean… it's okay if you go with Tom and see your mom. Jeri won't mind, in fact, you know that she'll understand. I mean, family _is_ kind of important…"

Tom watched Rika look at the boy with a slightly annoyed, analytical expression on her face before looking over at the other child. In his eyes, he could easily say that he had never before met two people who were more opposite in his life, and he had found it rather interesting that Rika associated herself with him. She tended to be calm and well collected, graceful and professional even while this boy was nervous, awkward, and rather goofy looking with those goggles on his head, making Tom think of him as one of those fans of the well liked television show and card game known as Digimon. Of course, there was the crimson dinosaur with the strange, hazard marking on his chest that walked behind them with the Renamon that was Rika's partner, so it was highly likely that he was a Tamer like she was, and that they had become friends through that. Rumiko had told him some stories about Rika's adventures and the friends that she had made since becoming a Tamer… Tom leaned in and studied the boy carefully. There was something about him that seemed rather familiar, though he had never met him before. Maybe it was from a description…

Tom's eyes lighted on the yellow goggles that were perched on the boy's head and something clicked.

"You must be Takato," said Tom as he snapped his fingers, and the boy turned to look at him.

"Uh… yeah. That's me… uh… sir."

Tom chuckled a little at the use of the word _sir_.

_Kid's pretty respectful isn't he?_ Tom thought with some humor.

"Thought so. Rumiko's told me a little bit about Rika's friends, and your description came up. I had asked Rika about you once and she told me that the best way she could describe you was that you were a _Gogglehead_. Didn't know that she was talking about the head piece that you wear," Tom tipped the boy a wink, and Takato cocked his head in confusion. "The way she said it I thought that she used it more as a _pet name_ or an insult. Either that or both."

Tom grinned as both Takato and Rika's face began to turn a little bit red (though in all fairness, Rika's was much less so than Takato's, almost to the point of being barely noticeable), and Takato coughed lightly and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Uh… well… um… ah… I'm still kind of trying to figure that out myself…"

Takato's face flushed even more at the way that must have sounded and he wished that a hole could just open up beneath him so that he could disappear. This was starting to become just a little bit ridiculous, and Rika wasn't helping with her glaring at him as though he were doing something wrong.

"At this point," scowled Rika as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'd say insult. At any rate, I should probably go with Tom anyway. At least this way I can keep him from embarrassing me in front of my friends." Rika fixed Tom with a merciless glare, and the blonde haired man simply grinned, though to be honest he was starting to feel almost as nervous as the Takato kid was right now. In all honesty, Tom didn't know why Takato was acting this way. Back when he and Rika were talking about her friends, she had spoken of Takato quite highly, having a bit more to say on his own development as a Tamer in comparison to Henry, Ryo, Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri, though perhaps not quite in the same light as Ryo and Jeri. But then when she had approached each Tamer and digimon the way that she spoke of them said volumes to Tom, and with Takato and Henry, Tom had sensed a great deal of trust placed with those two, Jeri a sort of admiration, Ryo an intense but friendly competitiveness that hinted a little at past disappointment, and Kazu and Kenta (whom she referred to regularly as the dimwit duo) quite a bit of annoyance (though less so for Kenta as opposed to Kazu) but still a fair degree of trust, if not toleration.

Given the sort of things that Rika dealt with on a regular basis, Tom wasn't at all that surprised that she would trust those that she had known the longest the most. Still, with Takato, he was a little disappointed in the packaging, at least at first glance, but as he looked the boy over he found that that didn't matter so much. Looks, he had decided a long time ago, didn't matter so much as the person that was inside, and Takato definitely seemed like the kind of person that he could trust.

Rika walked around to the other side of the car and opened up the passenger side door. Climbing in, Rika pulled out the seatbelt and buckled herself in before looking over at Takato, a serious expression on her face as she pulled out her violet shades and placed them on her face.

"Just remember what we talked about, got it, Gogglehead? And say hi to Jeri for me, okay?"

Takato nodded carefully, a warm smile on his face, and Tom raised an eyebrow, but did not comment on it. Not yet anyway. He would wait for a while yet before venturing onto unexplored territory.

Putting the car into drive, Tom pulled away from the sidewalk and went back into traffic, honking the horn and waving at Takato before leaving him behind, Renamon disappearing from the red dinosaurs side to follow her partner as they went on their way to meet Rika's mother.

Takato watched Rika drive off with Tom, a small smile on his face as he watched them go before turning away and resuming the journey from where he had left off.

"Come on, boy," said Takato quietly to Guilmon, who took a moment to watch the car go with curios eyes before bounding after his friend and partner, laughing childishly as he did so.

* * *

Richoemon looked up at his partner. The boy had been very quiet since Yamaki had given him that information about his hometown apparently not existing. Richoemon could sort of see how that was affecting him. Ryan had once told him that he had lived in that town, Greensborough all his life and up until he had gone to the digital world, had never lived anywhere else. Although Richoemon couldn't really understand living in only one place for one's entire existence, he did get the idea of what Ryan was now feeling. He was basically told that his home wasn't real, and that he didn't exist either. Not a very comforting thought in Richoemon's mind, but he just didn't know what to do about it. He just didn't have enough experience with life to know how to help his friend get through this kind of thing. Well, except… 

"You know," began the little orange lizard as he blew some of his hair out of his eyes. "Yamaki _did_ say that he was going to double check on all that stuff that he looked into for you and Chris."

Ryan glanced down at his partner and frowned.

"You know, I really hate it when you open up conversations like that. First, it's blunt and has no subtlety, and second, it makes me think that you can read my mind."

Richoemon laughed lightly.

"Well, we _are_ partners you know, so I should be able to read your mind. Besides, it's like I said. You're like a blank page to me Ryan, real easy to read. As for being blunt, I'm not much of a fan of what Chris and Caramon once called _dancing around a subject._ I kind of find it annoying and it doesn't get anything resolved."

"Can't argue with you there," admitted Ryan. "And yeah, you're right about what you said with Yamaki. I know that I should have more hope then this, but it just seems weird that a government agency as advanced as Hypnos finds it difficult to track down any information on me, Chris, and our hometown. I know that these things can sometimes take quite a bit of time, but this just seems a little too weird to me. Maybe I've been watching too much CSI or something…"

Richoemon blinked.

"Um… I don't know what you mean by _watching CSI…_"

Ryan sighed.

"That's something else that's going to be filed under _later_. In short though, it's a fictional story where people solve crimes…"

"Krimes?" Said Richoemon, trying out the word and cocking his head in confusion. Ryan sighed once again.

"You are one really deprived digimon, you know that?"

"So I've been told," said the orange, tiger-striped dinosaur, nodding in agreement.

"What I'm getting at is," continued Ryan, getting back to the original subject. "Is that my perception of how an agency like Hypnos is influenced by fictional events from a story that sometimes has to alter real life operations in order to quicken the plot of a story." Ryan paused. "You do know what a _plot_ is right?"

"Chris and Caramon mentioned something like that a while back, when we met up with them again so I get the idea. It's like destiny right?"

Ryan closed his eyes and mentally counted to three before reopening his eyes and fixing his partner with a look of tired amusement.

"It's… not _quite_ like that, but I guess that the worlds are similar enough for us to work with. Anyway, what happens in that story that I told you about, and what happens in real life may be similar, but they also happen to be two different ways of doing things, and one isn't real and also slightly inaccurate. You get it now?"

Richoemon nodded. He did sort of understand.

"Things that are done at Hypnos are not what you expect them to be because of what a story with similar traits has done, right?"

Ryan smiled, relieved at his partner.

"Precisely. I just have to have more patience with Hypnos and more hope as well. I'll tell Chris about what I found out today and offer him my theories on the matter and we'll just wait and see."

"Mmmm… okay. So why are we out here then? It's not like you need to do much thinking about this. At least, it doesn't sound like you do…"

"Richoemon, my habit of taking a walk to think is more for my own comfort and piece of mind, and also, as I called it, a habit. It's just something that I do when I usually come up against something that gives me a certain amount of stress."

"Oh. So… does that mean that you're an expert at walking now?"

Ryan looked at his partner with a raised eyebrow, noting the triumphant smile that Richoemon had on his face.

"Rie…" Ryan said slowly. "You're really asking for it, you know that?

Richoemon responding laughter made Ryan narrow his eyes at the orange dinosaur, and the boy shook a fist threateningly at his friend, though it lacked any seriousness behind it and was more playful in gesture and appearance. Before the two could continue with their latest round of teasing, Ryan's green trimmed digivice suddenly cried sounded an alarm. Startled, Ryan pulled it out and called up the analyzer program to see what the source of the alarm was.

"Digital field! Over there!" Exclaimed Richoemon, pointing a claw towards a fog that had sprung up a ways off, close to the park's interior, right where they had been heading.

_Oh that's funny,_ thought Ryan. _The digimon for once is faster then the digivice. Now what do I do now? I mean, the answer's pretty obvious. I have to go down there and scope out the trouble, but I don't really know how the Tamers go about this sort of thing besides pummeling the digimon. Do I wait for back up or…_

Ryan glanced down at his digivice before looking back at the digital field. The fog barrier was expanding. If his digivice had anything to say about it, something was definitely coming. Ryan groaned mentally. He really didn't want to have to do this, but he didn't see that there was any way that he could refuse to get in there and _get his hands dirty_, so to speak. Ryan hated fighting, especially when all that came out of it was harm. He'd fight, but he preferred to find another way to work things out before going down that road. He had seen what a life of fighting did to digimon, and what it did to people as well, and what he had seen so far did not really give him a very positive outlook on that sort of lifestyle. And with the strange digimon that were popping up now he wasn't at all sure that he could handle them if things turned violent. Each fight that he, Chris, and the Tamers with the dark colored _Wild Ones_ had shown that they were stronger then the average digimon. Maybe he should wait for backup or something…

However, before Ryan could really settle on a decision Richoemon dashed forward, seemingly making the decision for him and running out into the streets just as a car rushed towards him.

"RICHOEMON!" Shouted Ryan, knowing that his warning came one second too late. The car's tires squealed as the driver pushed down on the breaks…

And came to a stop.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed out into the road, waving politely at the shocked and angry driver in front of him (who was currently shouting something incomprehensible at him, which was probably for the best considering his age) before grabbing his partner by his arm, and dragging him to the other side in frustration. Ryan glared at his partner as irritated car honks accompanied their departure.

"Richoemon," began Ryan, as though he were a parent addressing a disobedient child. "What did I tell you about looking both ways before crossing the street?"

"Sorry Ryan. But the fate of the world waits on no mon."

"Yeah. Neither does traffic…"

The fog continued to expand.

* * *

Rika sighed as she leaned her head on one upraised hand, a slight gust of wind from the cars motion playing with her hair. 

_Bored,_ thought Rika as she glanced at the people and vehicles that they passed by, catching a glimpse of Renamon as she temporarily materialized nearby before disappearing once more with the same warrior like grace that she had possessed since they had first met. Rika was kind of regretting dropping the chance to see Jeri again just to hang with Tom and her mother, but she it couldn't be helped now. She had made her decision and that was that. Unless a digital field suddenly materialized there was very little that she could do in regards to her situation.

"That Takato sure seems like an interesting character," spoke up Tom with a relaxed smile. "Sometime you should introduce me to your other friends. In the time that I've known you and your family I've only met one of them. Makes me wonder what the others are really like."

Tom's smile became almost devious.

"I'm interested in seeing what it is about this _Ryo_ person that you get all worked up about."

Rika raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the blonde haired man, looking rather un-amused by what Tom seemed to be implying but didn't want to raise it as an issue for discussion. That might lead down a road that she didn't want to go down. Tom glanced at her.

"Not interested in talking?"

"Not about Ryo," Rika replied curtly. "But then, I don't usually talk about myself either, so why now?"

"Because I'm interested," said Tom debating as to whether or not he should tell her about the decision that he had made a short time ago. Rika did have a right to know, since it involved her mother, but he wanted Rumiko to be the one to tell her. "I want to get to know you more, so why not? I mean… it does look like I'm going to be around for a while…"

Tom let that sentence trail off, and Rika once more raised an eyebrow, but Tom didn't elaborate, letting the silence restate the question that he had asked earlier. Rika returned her gaze to the streets.

"Ryo's… _Ryo._ I guess that's the best way I can start things off. I met him a couple of years ago at a card tournament and he beat me." Rika chuckled a little mentally as she remembered that day. "I remember that I was shocked and angry about what had happened when I played against him, and I took it as a personal failing. Losing to someone like him, with his perfect attitude and deck… it was rather hard for me to accept. When I went to the next tournament, I was better and wanted to prove my skills against him but he wasn't there. I beat everyone there and became the _Digimon Queen_, but because I didn't get a chance to take on the previous champion, the one that beat me, my victory left me feeling rather… empty. Bored. I was upset that Ryo didn't show up, but he was trapped in the digital world so how was I supposed to know? I didn't even know that the digital world was real at the time, let alone that he was stuck there with a half-crazed Ultimate level Cyberdramon as well. Looking back on our second meeting I know that I should have been more understanding when he didn't recognize me at first. He's had a lot more to worry about then some girl that he beat in a tournament before entering the digital world."

"Sounds like his noticing you is something that's important to you," said Tom. Rika scoffed.

"Please. That hack? Why would whether or not his noticing _anything_ about me be at all important?"

"Just the way that you talk about him, that's all. Like now, you've already admitted that his not remembering you when you met up in the digital world had left you feeling _irritated_…" Tom glanced once more at Rika but she gave no clue that as to whether or not he had hit the mark. "…And when you do talk about him I get the sense that you're disappointed with something about him, or over something that he's done. I don't know what your relationship with this Ryo is except that he's a friend of yours, but I see that it bothers you sometimes, and I'd like to help you handle your problems, even though I know that you don't like it when that happens."

Rika glanced one again at Tom, debating as to just how much trust she should put in this man, who really was nothing more than a stranger to her. Sure, her mother liked him, but that didn't necessarily mean that she had to, even though she found him tolerable enough. She didn't like moments like this, where Tom tried to be the father figure to her. It brought back memories of her real father… but Tom _was_ only trying to lend a sympathetic ear. Something that any of her friends would do for her, as Takato had done when she had told him about her father, and later Henry. Once again she was reminded at how lucky was to have friends like that. Friends that she could trust with what was on her mind and in her heart, as people like that were sometimes in short supply.

_Now if only Ryo could be like that_, thought Rika.

"Look," Rika began, deciding to trust Tom for once, if only for her mother's sake. "If Ryo could be trusted to stay in one place long enough and not just up and disappear the way he does, and then come back and not offer any explanation as to what had happened, as to _why_ he left or what he had been doing, then I wouldn't mind him so much. I might even see him as a very close friend," Rika's eyes flashed as she remembered a time shortly after their partners had been forced to return to the digital world, when Henry had pitched the Tamers the idea to send messages to their partners. She had refused at first, but in the end Ryo had convinced her, despite her own denials to the contrary. It was a decision that she hadn't regretted since.

"So it's a matter of trust," said Tom in a low voice as he turned the corner, but before anything else could be said Tom suddenly stepped on the breaks and the car came to a halt.

"Wha…?" Began Rika in surprise as she noticed the rather long line of cars that had stopped up in the road. Renamon materialized next to her and scanned the area.

"This is new," muttered Tom in a slightly irritated voice. Renamon ignored this as her azure eyes settled on a distant pair of figures that ran across the street, one of them being hauled across by an arm. Both had a familiar outline to the vulpine digimon.

_Well, well, well… looks like Ryan and Richoemon are out causing trouble_, thought the kitsune with dry amusement.

And that was when Rika's D-Arc gave an alarm.

* * *

Beelzemon paused in his interrogation of Leomon as he felt something tug at the edges of his senses. Looking over his shoulder he saw a dense fog settle close to the center of Shinjuku park and he flexed his arms. 

"Looks like we're about to have company," said the Demon Lord looking over at Leomon, gauging his reaction. Leomon simply stared at the fog, his eyes narrowed in concentration as though he were having an inner debate with himself.

"Hey," said Beelzemon, snapping his claws together. "Snap out of it. We've got some business to attend to here. A digimon's bio-emerging and we've got to take care of it if it's going to be dangerous."

Leomon turned to face Beelzemon, and the Mega level digimon suddenly backed up a bit, seeing something in Leomon's eyes that made him feel suddenly uncomfortable.

_Something's different about him,_ the Demon Lord thought.

"Ryan will be there," said Leomon simply.

"Oookay," said Beelzemon as he remembered that the name belonged to one of those new Tamers that had shown up a few days ago. "All the more reason for us to go out and help him, don't you think?"

With that said Beelzemon started to turn, but Leomon's voice made him halt.

"No. You will not interfere."

"What? Are you nuts or something? Isn't this _Ryan_ kid a friend of your…?"

Beelzemon's words died in his mouth as he turned back to face the lion digimon, and his mind was shocked beyond almost all coherency as he saw that Leomon now had glowing lines of gold energy crisscrossing all over his body. As the biker Mega stood there, the glow intensified and Leomon advanced on Beelzemon. Burning wings of light sprung from Leomon's back as he fell forward onto his arms, his appearance altering to that of a quadruped lion with wings, but of little else Beelzemon couldn't really tell, the light was just too bright for him to make out much else before he had to close his three eyes.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!?!" Shouted Beelzemon as the light grew in intensity.

The light wrapped figure advanced once more before leaping at him.

* * *

Ryan and Richoemon entered the digital field and came to a halt as they took a look at the area around them. After a few moments Ryan pulled out his digivice and activated the analyzer program, scanning the area for any potential hostiles. 

"Over there!" Said Richoemon, once more beating Ryan's digivice to the punch. For some reason the green trimmed digivice beeped, as though in irritation with Ryan's partner for taking over its job.

Looking up, Ryan saw a figure, about the size of a human but wider, advancing towards them and entering into view. Ryan's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the digimon, but was even more surprised at the differences that he noted in its appearance. He knew that digimon tended to look alike, have the same if not similar mannerisms as their _clones_ with only occasional differences between them, from random stripes, pigmentation, extra claws or horns, body structure, and how their special attack came out, but this came as something of a surprise to him.

The digimon that now approached them looked like the Gargomon that he had seen in action before. Green and white fur with large ears and pants, but it also came with extra additions such as dark colored body armor, shoulder guards, and kneepads. His arsenal was also dramatically different. Rather then the rotating Gatling gun barrels that made up Gargomon's primary means of engagement, this one had miniature, single tube energy cannons mounted where hands normally would be placed.

_Why do I have a bad feeling that things aren't going to go very well here?_ Thought Ryan as he stepped forward and showed the digimon his hands, one empty and the other holding his digivice in an attempt to show that he meant no harm to the Gargomon.

"Um… excuse me…" began Ryan, wondering what sort of protocol he was supposed to follow here. Not that it mattered. He had caught the Gargomon's attention anyway. It took one look at him before focusing on the digivice in his hand before raising one of its cannons and aimed it at him.

_That's not good,_ thought Ryan as fear suddenly began to take hold of him.

"The Mjolner boy," said the Gargomon in a warm, almost child-like voice that belied its threatening gesture. Ryan felt chills go down his spine. He wondered if this was what it felt like to deal with a psychopath. "Give it to me."

_That's __**really**__ not good…_

"I don't suppose that you could tell me why first," said Ryan as the Gargomon narrowed its eyes at him. "I mean, this thing is kind of connected to me, so I don't know how it could be of any use to you." Ryan licked his lips nervously. "But I would like to know why you find it so important."

Something else clicked in his mind.

"Hold on. Did you just call my digivice a _Mjolner_?"

Gargomon didn't answer. He just continued to stare at Ryan for a moment longer before his eyes widened in surprise.

"_Ahuramon's shade…_" the Gargomon said in almost a whisper. The name Ahuramon catching Ryan's attention.

_What the…?_

Gargomon cocked his arm and pointed it at Ryan.

"Sorry kid. But I'm going to have to dispose of you. My boss, Loki doesn't have any use for humans linked to Mjolners. Digimon either," the Gargomon added with a touch of resignation, indicating Richoemon who got into a defensive position in front of his partner. "And even less for those that are touched by Ahuramon. Can't have that running around. Tough break but that's business. You understand though right?"

_Not really,_ thought Ryan as he lowered his hands.

"Can't we just talk about this?"

Gargomon's cannons began to power up in answer to Ryan's question.

_Why can't we just get the easy ones?_ Wondered Ryan for the hundredth time as his digivice began to glow and a sphere of data materialized around Richoemon.

"**Gargo Cannons!"**

"RICHOEMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

* * *

Rika Nonaka raced through the streets, her course aimed towards the park. She had left Tom's car as soon as she saw the digital field, offering a quick apology and explanation (_Tamer duties_, she had said) for Tom to deliver to her mother when he saw her before rushing off. Tom had called out her name, probably out of instinct, but he had not pursued. He knew what she had to do, and though Rumiko probably wouldn't be happy about it she would understand. Well, not anywhere near as well as Rika's grandmother would, but Rumiko had handled all the other times that Tom had let her go before without getting angry at him, but for some reason Rika felt that things between Rumiko and Tom in regards to her Taming duties were different from what she was led to believe. 

_Enough of that,_ thought Rika fiercely as she came to a halt in front of a street, waiting for there to be a safe enough distance between vehicles for her to cross._ I have something more important to deal with right now…_

But something tugged at the back of her mind. Something about what Tom had said to her. Something about _being around for a while_ when he wanted to talk to her and get to know her a little better. Something about that bothered her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it…

An explosion rocked the trees in Shinjuku Park, kicking up smoke and fire within its embrace. Glancing around at the streets as she felt her adrenaline increase, Rika dashed across, Renamon appearing behind her and grabbing her from behind, lifting her upwards and then phasing out of view, just before a truck rushed by where the girl had stood, its horn blaring loudly. Rika and Renamon reappeared safely on the other side of the road and the red haired Tamer nodded her thanks to her partner before they once again took off, Renamon vanishing into thin air and Rika sprinting towards the interior of the park, a roar of anguish and the sound of something heavy hitting the earth reaching the girl's ears.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for leaving it off here on a cliffhanger, and sorry for not posting last week, as I had been intending to do. Some things just got in the way, and this was a particularly long chapter, and I wanted to focus on some character aspects before getting down to the nitty gritty battles. Next chapter is going to feature some heavy action with more developments with Leomon as he squares off against Beelzemon, as well as Ryan and Richoemon as they tackle the strange Gargomon. 'Till next time then. Later. 

-Crazyeight

17


	17. Fear of the Unknown part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter 16: Fear of the Unknown/ Part: 2

"So what else have you found out, Dad?" Asked Henry Wong as he entered his father's office and sat down, who was currently going over some algorithms from his recent studies of the new Tamers digivices and the strange Snimon that had bio-emerged in Shinjuku three days ago. The elder Wong sighed.

"Not much unfortunately," Janyu said in resignation. "The data from the Snimon that Chris analyzed three days ago contains a shifting algorithm…"

"We know that already," said Terriermon in an irritated voice. "You've reminded us of that each time that we've gotten together on this. Well, rather Henry got together with you on this. I'm just along for the ride, and each time it's basically been the same!"

Henry glowered at his long eared partner.

"Terriermon…"

"Sorry Henry," said Terriermon, lowering his voice and adopting a passive look. "It's just that all this _techno-talk_ hurts my head, and each time there's nothing new to report. It's either _the algorithms are difficult to translate_ or _the data shifts too much_. I'm tellin' ya, I could start quoting all the terms that the two of you have used in the past three days…"

"Name one," said Henry with an amused glint in his eyes. Terriermon _huffed_ and crossed his arms indignantly.

"I would, but I can't even pronounce it."

As Henry sighed once more at his rather rambunctious partner, Janyu laughed.

"He is right you know," said the elder Wong. "I've been trying to crack this code for the past three days and still I'm not having any success with it. It's almost as if the codes were written in an entirely different language, and the way that the Snimon's data was constructed and manipulated to the extent that it was… I can see similarities between it and the digivices that Ryan and Chris carry, but the programming is substantially different. It's almost as if they were created by two different people from two different countries."

"But wouldn't there be similarities that you can track even if that were the case?"

"As I noted, some lines of code carry over, particularly in Ryan's digivice since the data that infected his digivices and partner, I believe and based off of Chris's story of what happened to them I have no reason to doubt this, came from a digimon that had similar features as the Snimon. Though it would appear that the Mammothmon that Ryan and Chris fought wasn't as well developed. In either case, there is a repeating code here, but only as far as the data manipulation programs. The rest is… different. I don't doubt that they took similar blue prints to start with, but however those new digivices and strange digimon came into existence, they branched off quite some time ago and went down a different pathway. Sort of like how a digimon digivolves."

"I see…" said Henry as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Janyu sighed.

"If only we had all of Hypnos's systems fully on line…"

"Is Hypnos still down Dad?"

"Not entirely," replied Janyu. "A fair majority of the major systems, the tracking program and Yugoth to name a couple, are back on line, but due to extreme system malfunctions when the _Black Knightmon _and _Nightmare Blitzmon_ arrived here in the real world, their effectiveness is greatly reduced. While we can still detect digimon, they have to be of an extremely high level in order to be properly detected, and that alone might cause the circuits to become fried again."

"How high are we looking at?" Asked Terriermon.

"Possibly Ultimate and Mega."

"Great," lamented Henry. "So basically, until Hypnos is back up and running at full capacity we're vulnerable."

"Not completely," said Janyu. "Like I said, the tracking system works, and so does Yugoth, but only for the higher level digimon that attempt to realize in the real world. Anything lower is well within your area of expertise to handle."

"Nice of you to look at it that way I guess, but with new digimon like that Apemon and Snimon arriving…"

"I know, Henry," said Janyu, his face taking on a tired look. "Believe me, I know. I would rather that you didn't have to be involved in this, but I have to face the facts that you are. I had to before back during the Deva invasions, D-Reaper, and finally Parasimon."

Henry smiled softly at his father, and Janyu smiled back before returning to his computer screen and began to type away as he once more began to go over the distinctive lines of data that had been infuriating him for the past three days. Janyu couldn't help but wonder if he was fighting a losing battle.

Suddenly Henry's D-Arc gave a cry of alarm and the boy stood up as he took it out and called up the tracking program, his father giving him a raised eyebrow as he waited for his son to tell him that he had to go, while at the same time wondering why the Hypnos alarm system hadn't gone off yet.

_Might be a low level digimon,_ the man thought.

Almost as soon as it had begun though, the alarm that was coming from the half-Chinese Tamer's digivice suddenly silenced, causing both to blink at it in surprise. Even Terriermon looked incredulously at the green trimmed device before turning to look at Henry.

"Do you think that it's broken Henry? Can I shake it and see?"

Henry ignored the long eared digimon.

"I… guess that it was just a false alarm…"

Janyu tilted his head to one side.

"Has it ever done that before?" He asked. Henry shook his head.

"Never."

"Why don't you let me take a look at it? It could be that Terriermon has the right of it and that it might be broken."

"But what if there really is a digimon out there? The others might need my help!"

"I'd like to point out that the Hypnos alarms hadn't gone off, so that may indicate that the digimon, if one even realized, was at too low a level to be detected, therefore I'm certain that your friends are suited to handling the situation on their own. True, digimon aren't the type of creature to underestimate, but you have all proven yourself to be quite resourceful for a bunch of kids. It's probably just a regular Wild One anyway. Don't worry about it."

* * *

**"Gargo Cannons!"**

A green colored energy blast slammed into the massive form of the orange colored dinosaur known as Terradramon, the power from the force of the impact proving too much for him to stand up against and he fell backwards, the dino putting a little push into his fall so as to avoid crushing the human child that stood behind him.

CRASH!

"TERRADRAMON! YOU OKAY?!" Shouted Ryan before going into a coughing fit from the dust that his digital partner had raised upon landing on the ground.

"Rrrrgh…" came the intelligent reply.

_Well, at least that's something,_ thought Ryan sarcastically as he turned to face the strange Gargomon that was now looking at him curiously.

_Uh oh…_

"Hmmm… Didn't know that you could digivolve a digimon bonded through a Mjolner. Looks like Loki didn't give me all the details. Again. Oh well." Gargomon took a moment to fiddle around with some kind of device attached to his recently fired hand cannon, and it changed its shape to resemble the Gatling gun that Ryan had seen previously on Henry's partner.

_Wha…? How'd it…?_

The Gargomon giggled and pointed the gun arm at Ryan and the boy tensed. But before either one could even begin to make a move, a concentrated blast of fire rocketed towards the Gargomon and impacted him with deadly force, causing him to cry out in pain and knocking him backwards. Green laser blasts flew upwards, but were far beyond the mark that Gargomon had originally been aiming towards, giving Ryan the impression that the long eared, gun toting digimon couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the way that he was presently handling the battle, but previous experience told him that would change soon enough.

The ground shook slightly as behind him, the great form of Terradramon rose up and readied himself for battle. Ryan couldn't help but smile at once more seeing the Champion level digimon back to his normal self.

"Ryan?" Asked the digital dinosaur in a gruff voice as his gaze became fixated on the Gargomon that was struggling to get up from off the park ground. "You might want to sit back and let the grown ups handle this one."

"I'd hardly call this a conversation between mutual and consenting adults…" began Ryan but Terradramon simply roared and charged towards the Gargomon, his mouth opening and his claws rearing backwards to take a swipe at the Gargomon. Looking up at his oncoming assailant, the Gargomon found all the reason that he needed to get to his feet quickly and then leapt into the air, his long ears extending outwards and catching an air current as his remaining cannon hand morphed into another Gatling gun, and began to blast away with a barrage of Gargo Lasers. However, due to their decreased intensity in comparison to the cannons that he had been using earlier, the laser blasts had little effect on Terradramon as he let loose a roiling ball of fire. Gasping in surprise, the Gargomon ducked underneath the fireball and continued to blast away, cursing under his breath before reformatting one of his Gatling guns into a cannon and firing away. This time, Terradramon was ready for the attack and leapt backwards. Though the blast was still strong enough to make Terradramon a little unsteady on his feet despite having missed him, nevertheless Terradramon kept his footing and once more shot at the Gargomon with another roaring fireball.

_Why's this Gargomon keep changing the way his hands look?_ Wondered Ryan as he looked down from his digivice, having taken a moment to analyze the digimon that he was seeing and finding its stats to be virtually identical to that of the standard Gargomon despite the obvious differences in wardrobe and weapons. Ryan observed the Gargomon carefully as he quickly fiddled with the cannon hand before reformatting it back to its original Gatling gun shape.

_I wonder if it takes up a lot of energy…_

As Ryan watched, the Gargomon smirked at the oncoming fireball and dodged to the side, the searing flames roaring past him. And then, without a moment's hesitation the Gargomon flew in, his ears streaming behind him to cut down on wind resistance before slamming one of his Gatling guns into Terradramon's face. With a cry of pain and surprise, Terradramon teetered to one side before Gargomon brought out the other arm and gave the other side of Terradramon's face the same treatment. To Ryan's growing horror, Terradramon fell to the ground with a groan, kicking up dirt as he landed, and setting off a small shockwave as he did so. Instinctively, Ryan raised his digivice to face his partner, but then uncertainty hit him. Memories of the data that still dwelt within his body and digivice, and of Terradramon's corrupted form, flashed through his mind and he felt fear seize him up.

_What if the data that's still in me makes Terradramon digivolve wrong?_ His mind whispered, speaking the fear that he refused to name aloud from the darkest recesses of his heart.

The Gargomon landed softly on the ground, contrasting Terradramon's own personal meeting with that force called gravity before raising his Gatling guns and swiftly shifting them both to their cannon forms, aiming them at the orange saurian at near point-blank range. Terradramon's eyes opened slowly at the sound of his opponent giggling.

_"NOOOO!!!!"_ Shouted Ryan in desperation. _"DON'T DO IT!!!"_

Gargomon's cannons began to power up…

* * *

Beelzemon fell backwards as he was crushed beneath the weight of the winged lion-like creature that had jumped at him. Raising his claws to fend off the creatures sharp looking fangs, the former Demon Lord couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu at the situation. The last time he had been in this position had been at the hands of the great dragon, Megidramon, the dark, evil form of the Pineapple Head that was called Guilmon. The fact that this situation involved Leomon, just like it had last time, only served to drive the irony home to him. 

"Grrrrr…" Beelzemon's arms strained against the force of the creature that was on him. He was giving it all that he had to keep the beast back, and it _still_ wasn't enough! This was insane! Leomon was supposed to be a Champion level digimon! Of course, he had changed into… whatever digimon this thing was, but if he was any judge of power it had to be somewhere on the level of a Mega! And to Beelzemon that didn't make much sense!

As the demonic digimon's arms began to fail him, Beelzemon realized that the question of this creature's strength and level really didn't matter as much as getting off of him did.

_Dis is going to be a little risky…_ thought Beelzemon as he positioned one of his boots beneath the winged lion's stomach and, after tapping into the data of some of the digimon that he had absorbed in the past (though it gave him no pleasure in doing so), he gave a great push. Beelzemon grunted as the creature slowly began to lift off of him. It was easily longer then he was tall, and felt to be ten times heavier then Guilmon after one of his eating binges! As sweat crawled down his face, Beelzemon gave one last, hard push and the winged lion creature flew off of him, though perhaps with more force then he had initially intended.

_Unless that is he gave himself a boost with those wings of his,_ thought Beelzemon as he got to his feet and glared at his _opponent_. The winged lion, still glowing slightly from its change in form circled Beelzemon, growling and baring its teeth. Almost on instinct, Beelzemon reached for his guns, but then paused as he remembered that this digimon had been Leomon earlier. Despite the fact that Beelzemon thought that this version was a fake (even though this belief had been challenged by the accuracy of the Leomon's memories of the real ones time with Jeri), it was the thought of the female Tamer, Jeri Katou, that prevented him from drawing his weapons. Regardless, his hesitation to combat the glowing, winged lion was all that his opponent needed to leap towards him once again, claws extended. Beelzemon gritted his teeth and spun, raising one foot and smashing it into the creature and sending it sprawling to the ground.

"Oh, no you don't," said Beelzemon grimly as he lowered the foot that he had used to kick the beast. "You're not pinning _me_ to da ground _dis_ ti…!"

As soon as the former Demon Lord's foot made contact with the ground he stumbled and groaned in pain. His leg… it felt like it had just been weighed down with lead. And worse…

_Leg's gone numb,_ Beelzemon thought as he gripped his leg with his claws and winced. _What __**is**__ dis d'ing? _

Looking up, Beelzemon saw the lion beast walking slowly towards him, energy building up in the back of its mouth. Widening its gaping maw, the strange entity that had once been a Leomon sent a vicious burst of prismatic energy rocketing towards Beelzemon, slamming him full in the chest and propelling him off the roof, the Demon Lord screaming in pain and shock as he suddenly found gravity laying claim over him with the closest ground a dizzying distance below him.

_I ain't going out __**that**__ easy,_ thought Beelzemon fiercely as he closed his eyes and reached deep into the center of his being, calling upon the power that he had attained back during the battle with D-Reaper. Great, dark feathered bird wings tore their way out of his back as his eyes changed from a deep, blood red to emerald green, while a large energy cannon materialized on his right arm. The transformation to his _Blast Mode_ complete, Beelzemon spread his wings and, upon catching a gust of wind, and soared upwards to once again confront his adversary and meet him on equal terms…

No sooner then he had gotten up to the respective height above the city streets the winged lion pounced into the air and spread its own wings wide, crashing into Beelzemon once again and sending both of them flailing through the air.

_Ah nuts…_ thought Beelzemon as he tried to bring his cannon, _Deathslinger, _to bear on his enemy.

* * *

**"Fox Tail Inferno!"**

As Ryan watched, helpless to do anything for his partner, a number of small balls of azure fire appeared around the Gargomon that was about to destroy his partner, causing the vaccine, gun toting, jeans wearing bunny dog to pause in his execution as he looked at the flames with a curios expression. Then, as though on some hidden signal the flames flared and melded together in one swift burst of fire, causing the Gargomon to shriek painfully and jump backwards, his gun hands covering his eyes as though he had been blinded by the fire. Terradramon took advantage of the distraction to get into a kneeling position and then swing his tail around, batting the Gargomon away from him and send him flying once more, with yet another yelp of surprise being emitted from the rabbit-dogs lips.

_Wha…? _Thought Ryan in surprise as he whirled around to see who was responsible for such a timely rescue. For a moment he almost thought that it was the Legendary Tamer, Ryo Akiyama, since most of the stories that the other Tamers had about him involved him showing up at the last minute to save the day like some sort of action hero, but as soon as he saw a girl with familiar red hair tied back in a pony tail running alongside a yellow, nine tailed fox coming towards the scene of battle he saw that he was wrong.

"Hey there," called out the red haired Tamer as she ran onto the scene, her eyes flashing as she pulled up next to him. "Need a hand?"

Ryan blinked before giving a relieved smile at the girl and nodded, grateful for the offer of aid.

_Well… I guess Rika'll do just as well,_ thought Ryan, turning back to the battle as Kyubimon gracefully jumped into the air and coiled into a ball, calling out her _Dragon Wheel _attack and launching a stream of blue fire that resembled a dragon at the Gargomon, who had recovered enough in mid-air from Terradramon's blow to fire off a cannon blast at Kyubimon's attack and cancel it out before firing the other cannon at the kitsune digimon. The blast roared through the air and smashed into Kyubimon just as she was uncoiling from her ball. As the vulpine digimon fell to the ground Gargomon, with the use of his large ears, gracefully landed and fiddled around with some hidden control mechanism on his cannons before morphing them back to Gatling guns.

"Stay out of this fight fox-o," said the Gargomon disdainfully. "I'm not interested in you. Only the _dino-boy_ and his human partner…"

A shadow fell over the Gargomon, and he looked up to see Terradramon towering over him, a low, guttural growl emanating from the back of his mouth. Terradramon raised one foot and brought it over the gun bunny.

"Aw nuts…" moaned Gargomon as he dashed to the side, barely avoiding the large, saurian foot that crashed into the ground.

While Gargomon was busy dodging and shooting at Terradramon (who was likewise busy trying to stomp the long eared digimon into the dirt, making their fight look oddly like a dance rather then two digimon brawling), Rika ran over to Kyubimon's side to see how she was fairing. The vulpine digimon was struggling to stand, but didn't look all that up to the job. Nonetheless, she did stand and when she did she simply nodded at Rika before charging back into the fray, joining Terradramon in his battle with the Gargomon, just in time to see the giant dinosaur get flattened once more by a well timed _Bunny Pummel_.

As Rika watched her partner tackle the Gargomon she raised her digivice and activated the scanning program to see what new types of attributes and attacks that this new version of Gargomon had, only to be disappointed to see her D-Arc call up just the original stats that she had seen before back in the parking garage when she had first encountered Terriermon's Champion form.

_Oh __**that's **__helpful,_ thought Rika disdainfully as she lowered her digivice and dug into her deck box to find the appropriate card to aid her partner. She considered calling upon the power of a blue card and digivolving Kyubimon to Taomon in order to wrap this fight up quickly, but given that Hypnos as well as herself had adopted the policy of _not deleting digimon unless there was no other alternative,_ Rika felt that Taomon might be _too_ much power to have in a fight against a Champion, especially one that Kyubimon had type advantage over. Although she had to say that the Gargomon's enhancements worried her enough to the point where she felt that Taomon might not be that bad of an idea. Still, if this digimon was disoriented and could be returned to the digital world without having to delete it, she didn't want to cause an unnecessary death unless she absolutely had to, and she knew that Kyubimon felt the same way.

Pulling out a speed-boost card, Rika slashed it through the slot of her D-Arc, and soon enough the effects were seen as Kyubimon swiftly vanished, evading Gargomon's energy blasts and reappearing behind him, using her enhanced velocity to ram the gun bunny from behind before leaping over him and once again coiling into a ball. Blue fire enveloped the kitsunes form and shot out like a serpent, striking the Gargomon dead on. Rika gave a triumphant smirk as she pulled out a power option card and prepared to slide it through her D-Arc to put the finishing touch on her victory…

Suddenly the Gargomon blew away the flames and jumped into the air, his body glowing with an azure light as he aimed his gun barrels at Kyubimon and fired. This time, rather then green lasers erupting from the guns, blue, dragon shaped flames shot out and struck Kyubimon dead on and she once again fell towards the ground. Not relenting in his attack, Gargomon continued to pour on the fire, laughing all the while as he did so…

**"Fission Burst!"**

Only to be nailed by a ball of fire that had been launched at him, courtesy of Terradramon. Not to be detoured however, Gargomon back flipped to the ground and charged at Terradramon, his gun barrels licking with not only the same blue flames as Kyubimon's attack, but now this time with the orange blaze of Terradramon's.

**"Bunny Inferno!"** Shouted the Gargomon as he launched a sapphire and orange blaze at Terradramon, impacting with the giant dinosaur at point blank range and sending him crashing backwards with a painful roar.

Casting a worried glance over at Kyubimon, Rika was relieved to see her partner once again getting up. Their eyes locking, both nodded at each other, as if they both knew what the other was thinking. Digging once more into her deck box, Rika pulled out a blue card and raised it to her digivice. Sparks flew as she dragged it through the slot.

"DIGI-MODIFY!" The red haired Tamer called out, and at its sound Gargomon turned to see what was going on, his eyes widening as realization settled in on him. Earlier in the battle he had noted that humans somehow seemed capable of digivolving the digimon that they were partnered with. Already his two opponents were at the Champion level, but he wasn't too concerned about that. He had faced more then two during his service to the Great Lord Loki, even at a type disadvantage, but if these children were capable of evolving their partners even higher, such as say, the Ultimate level, then he was in trouble. He couldn't allow that. Gargomon raised one arm and took aim…

"EEEH-**YOW!!!"**

Only to have the jaws of Terradramon sink into his arm a second later and haul him upwards, the saurian teeth biting brutally into his arm.

"MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION…" The human girl continued to call out. Gritting his teeth, Gargomon pulled the trigger on his opponent, firing into Terradramon's mouth and abruptly the Champion level dog-bunny was let go.

"TERRADRAMON!" Called out the boy with the Mjolner, almost frantically, but Gargomon didn't take any notice of it. If the digimon he had just shot was dead then that was one part of his mission complete. But if he was expected to survive he had to take down the girl before she could complete…

"… ACTIVATE!" The red haired girl pulled the card out of her digivice and an aura of blue light burst in her right hand and was followed by a sphere of data settling on the Kyubimon that the Gargomon had been sparring with earlier.

_Whoops,_ thought the Gargomon as he adjusted his aim. _Change in plans…_

**"Gargo Lasers!"**

"KYUBIMON! MATRIX-DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"

* * *

Suddenly Kyubimon cried out in pain as the digi-egg that she was in was unexpectedly shattered and green lasers tore into her body, blasting away excess data until she returned to her Rookie form of Renamon and collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. 

_No…_ thought Renamon despairingly as she tried to get back up. Her arms were shaking from the sudden shock of an abruptly interrupted digivolution. Summoning what energy she had left, Renamon coiled her muscles and leapt at the Gargomon, determined to protect her Tamer at any cost, even her own life. As though reliving her first battle with the Gargomon that had eventually become her friend, Renamon phased out of view and reappeared above the Gargomon, landing on top of him and scratching at his face, trying to defeat, or at least distract him long enough for Rika to come up with a way to defeat this digimon. There really wasn't much of an alternative now. Unless they received help now, it was destroy or be destroyed time.

Rika gasped and grabbed her shoulder as she felt the pain of her partner through the link that they shared. Gritting her teeth Rika fought her way through the pain and reached into her deck box once more, trying to find some card that could help them. Maybe if they biomerged…

But Renamon was otherwise too distracted for that to happen. All of her focus was intent on trying to keep the Gargomon busy and keep herself from being flung off the oversized dog-bunny. Looking to her right, Rika saw Ryan just standing there, holding his digivice in a vice like grip and staring at his fallen partner as his data phased in and out of stability due to the intense damage that he had just taken from his fight with Gargomon. Rika had to admit it had looked brutal. Taking a shot in the mouth like that…

_Kid looks scared,_ thought Rika, which she found to be rather odd seeing as how he had been trapped in the digital world for who knows how long, dealing with digimon that kept coming after him and his friends. Maybe the stress of it all was finally starting to get to him. Be that as it may, Rika felt that he needed a wake-up call and get his act back into the game if they were expected to get out of this alive in one piece.

"Hey!"

Ryan jumped; startled at the commanding tone that Rika was addressing him with and turned to look at her. Rika's eyes narrowed.

"Don't just stand there staring blankly, you've got to do something other then hold your digivice! In case you didn't notice, we're in trouble here!"

A blast of green lasers impacted a tree to Rika's left, as though emphasizing her point and the boy tensed up.

"Huh? But… b-but I… I… I can't…Terradramon…"

Rika's eyes narrowed even more. Perfect time for the kid to freeze up...

_Stupid Rookies…_ she thought irritably.

"What do you mean, _you can't_? You'd better do something, and do it_ fast!_"

Ryan looked over at his partner, feeling completely useless in this fight. His partner's body phased out of stability again, as though sensing his anxiety. Ryan clutched his digivice even tighter, thinking of all the reasons why he couldn't do a thing to help.

_How can I?_ He thought. _Terradramon's down and out for the count, and there's not much that I can do on my own. Even __**if**__ I could do something there's still that code that could throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing. Anything I do might become corrupted like it did last time…_

Rika took another look at Renamon to see how she was fairing. It didn't look at all good. Gargomon was starting to shoot upwards, aiming at where Renamon was sitting despite the pain that she was causing to his face with her claws at his doing so. Rika turned once more at Ryan, her patience starting to wear thin. This kid had better snap out of it before…! And that was when Rika saw it. The look on his face. She had noticed it before but hadn't paid much attention to it. It was a familiar fear to her, and she could practically kick herself for not recognizing it sooner. It was the same fear that she had when IceDevimon had paid her a visit, trying to make her his Tamer, and she had feared that Renamon would end up just like him if she digivolved. A blood thirsty, power hungry monster that hunted down other digimon for her own cruel pleasure. Considering what Chris had told them about what happened to Richoemon and Ryan in the digital world, and having seen BlackTerradramon herself, she did not doubt that the same thoughts were running through his mind. Sure, his friend's Champion form was fine, but what about his Ultimate?

Rika raised a hand and placed it firmly on his shoulder.

"Look. Whatever it is that your dealing with, whatever it is that you_ think_ could happen… ignore it. It's your faith in your partner that determines what happens to him, so if you have any faith left in your partner or yourself… _show it!"_

Rika said this last fiercely at the same moment that Gargomon flung Renamon off his back. Pointing his gun barrels at the Vulpine digimon he prepared to finish her off.

A light from behind him once more caused him to pause.

* * *

Beelzemon grunted as he tried to break loose from the winged lion, the beast claws pinning him to the side of a building while his mouth was presently mangling his _Deathslinger_ cannon in an attempt to leave it inoperable. 

"You know…" growled Beelzemon as he tried to wrench his gun free of his assailant's mouth. "Da least dat you could have done was tell me _why_ I couldn't interfere wid your little friends fight. I'm pretty sure dat would make a _whole_ lot more sense then this pointless fight, but since we're fighting now…"

With one last burst of energy, Beelzemon ripped his cannon free and smashed it into the side of the lion's skull, sending him soaring through the air to impact on the rooftop of a nearby building. Beelzemon flexed his muscles, working out the soreness that had developed since being pinned before flying after his prey, dismissing _Deathslinger_ and drawing the double barreled rifle from the holster on his left leg. As the winged lion began to get back to its feet, Beelzemon put a stop to its movement by landing next to it and kicking it down viciously before pointing his rifle at the creatures face.

"Don't move," he said and the creature, upon seeing that Beelzemon now had the upper hand complied. Beelzemon smiled. "Good. Now… you wanna tell me what's going on? Like, who you are, what you're doing here, why you're impersonating Leomon, and what da deal is wid dose new kids? Tell me! I want answers!"

The lion beast grinned at him.

"Too much to answer too soon, except that I can't allow them to fall in the hands of Loki."

Beelzemon blinked.

"Huh? _Loki? _Who's dis _Loki_? And if you want to keep dose kids out of his hands so bad den why're you keeping me from _helping_ one of dem now?"

"Because he needs this," said the winged lion. "Ryan's fears have to be conquered, and if he feels that someone is always going to be there to help him out and prevent him from facing those fears, then he'll be helpless when his pursuers come calling for him."

Beelzemon scoffed.

"And you couldn't tell me _dis_ _why?_"

"Because you still would have insisted on helping him anyway, _Impmon_. Because you won't stand by and let a comrade fight on their own. Call it friendship, or a desire to redeem yourself if you want, because of your past actions… though I must say that your dark wings certainly add to the _fallen hero_ aspect. Nice touch…"

"I didn't come here to be complimented on my good looks," growled Beelzemon as he cocked his gun. "Now, answer da rest of my questions."

"Well… for starters…"

Suddenly the winged beast's aura of light flared, blinding Beelzemon and he was quickly knocked back. The lion got to its feet, still glowing brightly.

"I'm supposed to be undercover here," said the entity. "Loki _can't_ know that I'm here. No one can, lest my presence invite their full attention. Right now they are, shall we say, _distracted_ by outside occurrences, but if they knew that I was here, they'd take a real interest in this world. Needless to say, I'm going to have to do something about this. Oh, and one last thing. I _am _Leomon…"

As the glow around the winged beast began to brighten even more, assaulting Beelzemon's senses, the former Demon Lord pulled back his fist, tapping into a power that had laid long dormant within him.

"We'll see about that," he said as orange energy began to flicker around his right fist, forming the visage of a great lion's head, almost regal in its appearance and boasting all the savagery of the beasts of the jungle.

A blast of white light shot out of the lion creature's body, aimed at Beelzemon just as he launched his attack.

**"Fist of the Beast King!"**

There was a massive explosion at the top of the roof, and then all was silent.

* * *

**"Dragon Fang!"**

The Gargomon shrieked in pain and horror as a massive, energy charged arm blade sheared through his Gatling guns, effectively amputating and literally _disarming_ him at the same time. Not to be outdone however, the little rabbit leapt into the air and spun, apparently trying for a Champion level version of Terriermon's _Terrier Tornado_ attack. Normally this would have been considered a wasted effort by the Tamers and digimon that stood facing this digimon, but seeing as how it had been pulling out so many new and unexpected maneuvers they couldn't discount their opponent having some sort of variation on its lower level form. Taking no chances, Mega Terradramon charged forward, spreading his wings to catch air and allow him some loft as he slashed with his arm blades. There was another cry of pain and one, long ear went flying into the air, separated from its owner before shattering into shards of data. Gargomon collapsed, groaning softly as he glared at the Ultimate level digimon that towered over him. He had sorely underestimated his opponents. If it hadn't been for that last minute digivolution to the Ultimate level by a digimon that he had _believed_ to be finished, and the distraction of a lowly Rookie that he should have deleted without any problem…

But then, here he was, and no arguments about _should have, would have, could have_ was going to change a thing about his current predicament. One of them, the red haired girl was approaching him. Not close enough for him to do anything, even if he were capable, but close enough where they could clearly see and hear each other. Gargomon recognized her. Most digimon did nowadays. A fair number of them had been made aware of this girl back when her will had called to the digital world seeking a suitable partner to tame, and even afterwards from the D-Reaper war…

_The Digimon Queen…_ Gargomon thought as he coughed, feeling exhaustion overtake him. He chuckled lightly to himself. _Those kids and their digimon… those __**Keepers**__… have allied themselves with some pretty powerful humans. Loki must be made aware of this…_

Reaching into the core of his being, Gargomon prepared himself. He wouldn't be taken alive. Not if he could help it, and his sacrifice would aid his master…

"All right," said the red headed Tamer as she looked at the Gargomon fiercely. "You're going to tell me what's going on here right now…!"

Rika never did get the chance to finish. With a small smile, Gargomon's form disintegrated, leaving nothing but individual bits of data floating in the air. Once, a long time ago she would have ordered Renamon to load the data, but that time was long gone. Her eyes firm and hard as steel, though brimming with tears at the thought of another digimon leaving life's embrace despite its actions, Rika turned away shaking her head as Renamon approached her. They smiled at each other.

"Good work, Renamon," Rika said with a note of pride in her voice, as well as relief at seeing her partner still alive and well despite the rough treatment that she had experienced.

"It'll take more then a rabbit to finish the likes of me," said Renamon coolly, though slightly playful now that the battle was over, though it was so subtle that only Rika could have noticed. Chuckling warmly the two of them looked over at Ryan who was standing over with his partner, hugging the orange dragon's knee tightly, grateful that his partner was alive and in one piece.

Ryan pulled away and looked up at Mega Terradramon, tears of relief rolling down his face.

"You okay, buddy?" Ryan choked out after a brief moment.

"Ryan?" Coughed the dragon, his voice sounding strained and harsh as though it bothered him in some way. "My throat hurts…"

* * *

The winged lion stood over the inert form of Impmon, contemplating the battle that he had just thought, and of the future complications that this encounter might have. 

_He won't remember at least,_ thought the beast. _At least that's something, but there's nothing to keep him from trying this again, or having his memories resurfacing later on. There's only so much that I can do in this world, and it pains me that I must suffer through its limitations but that's the way of things and I cannot disobey the laws as they were set down. To do otherwise would mean to unmake the universe as it exists and then there would be the ultimate chaos…_

The winged lion sighed and looked down at his paws, taking note of the faint golden lines of energy that were tracing their way across them. He was running out of time. Leomon would resurface and he would recede, and he couldn't be here with Impmon when it happened. That would burden the lion warrior with far too many questions. Questions that he could not answer on his own. That was what happened when you returned from the great beyond… you lose the experiences that you had in that other world. Leomon had agreed to it, even though that he knew what it meant and the problems that it might cause.

Sighing once more the winged lion, ancient guardian from the land of two rivers, turned and strode towards the edge of the roof, taking a moment to admire the tall spires that mankind had built for himself in his cities. They rivaled anything that had come before, including the cities of Sumer…

But thoughts of the past were nothing to him now. Only the present mattered. Spreading his wings the lion took off, catching an air current and soared away. He had to find a place where he could change in peace…

* * *

14 


	18. Quoth the Raven

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 17/ Quoth the Raven…

The sun shone down upon the temple ruins, illuminating the small areas of darkness while casting shadows in areas of light. Perhaps there was something to be said about that, a philosophical poem that could be transcribed to describe the ruins that stood there in this harsh, unyielding desert environment that baked beneath the sun under which the temple sat, a scarred, shattered remnant of its previous self; a ghost really, a shadow that called forth images of time's power over the world.

A white colored sneaker crunched on the ground directly in front of it as a girl with gray-blue eyes and dark hair tied back into an arching pony tail came to a stop, and looked at the temple, her cool gaze measuring it, taking in each and every battered inch as she licked her lips to rid them of the dryness that had been pervading them ever since she had arrived on this level of the digital world.

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings," the girl whispered to herself in a calm, measured manner as her eyes slid over a vicious scar that ran long and deep into the temple's outer wall, brushing next to the entrance. "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair."

"What was that Jane?" Asked a small, dark colored bird that stood next to the girl, her head just coming up past her knees.

The dark haired girl known as Jane looked down at the small bird digimon who had chosen to share her travels and hardships with from the moment that their partnership began looked down and smiled at her.

"Just something that I read in school a while ago Munnimon," the girl replied with a light chuckle. "Some stupid poem. I think that it was describing that temple up ahead."

"That temple?" Asked the bird digimon that Jane had called Munnimon as she took a skeptical look at the building before them, taking note of the craters and boulders that littered the area like so much refuse. "But it's in _ruins!_ How can something a poem take something like that and call it _frightening?"_

Jane again laughed lightly as she shifted her bag on her shoulder.

"It's a little complex," said Jane. "It's more of a statement of irony and the power of the natural world over that of humans, and probably has something to say on our pride too."

Jane frowned.

"Actually I don't know if any of that is right. We only started studying poetry in class and our teacher just thought that one would be a good one to start from."

"Oh," said Munnimon, cocking her head to one said and blinking in slight confusion. "Is there more of it then? Or was that all there was to the poem?"

"Oh, there's more," said Jane as she once again set her gaze on the temple ahead of them, her eyes setting themselves in determination and she began to get moving again. "I just don't remember it all. Just that particular passage was all that I remembered. It kinda stuck with me and I thought that it was worth remembering. I feel that it applies to that place up ahead very well."

"Hmmm…" was all that Munnimon said in response as she hopped into the air, spreading her wings and catching the thermals, allowing them to lift her up into the air, flapping her wings every so often so that she could stay within range of her partner. In the meantime, as the two companions made their way towards the temple ruins, Jane reached to her side, brushing aside the unzipped black fleece jacket that she wore (and had been regretting wearing ever since arriving here) and unclipped a T-shaped device with black trim from her belt, raising it in front of her as a holographic circle appeared above the devices screen, displaying a map of the surrounding environs and a white colored line that led straight ahead.

Straight towards the temple ruins.

"Are you sure that this is where they are?" Asked Munnimon as she flew close to the dark haired girl, flapping her wings so that she hovered next to her, looking over the girl's shoulder to take a look at the halo map. Jane looked up from her black trimmed device thoughtfully, knowing full well whom Munnimon was referring to when she said _they_. After all, _they_ were the reasons why the two of them had come to the digital world in the first place.

"Well, this is where the digivice's reader is telling us they went, provided that we're not following someone else's…" Jane paused for a moment as she pursed her lips, deep in thought.

"…Again," the girl added after a moment.

Munnimon looked at Jane as she said that before shaking her head.

"I still don't know why you think that we were following another signal after we met up with that Ryo kid…"

Jane narrowed her eyes and regarded the bird digimon coolly.

"We already discussed this Munnimon…"

"Yeah. I know. A dream."

"That's right. And you of _all_ digimon should know how important that sort of thing is…"

"We discussed that too Jane," said Munnimon with a huff as she landed on the ground in front of Jane, bringing the girl up short as she crossed her wings in irritation. "I left that part of me behind after I met you, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," said Jane lowering her eyes, her face set in a grimace as she looked back at her digivice, as though troubled by whatever memories that her partner had brought to the surface. After a couple seconds the girl shifted uncomfortably and she set off again. "Come on. We're almost to that temple. Better get there while we still have daylight."

Munnimon watched the girl walk off with sad eyes before taking flight again once more, matching her partner's pace.

"Jane," the bird digimon began softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Just forget about it, okay?" Said the girl a little harshly, though the look of sorrow on her own face suggested that she regretted the words and their use as quickly as she had said them. Her face softening Jane offered the bird digimon her shoulder to ride upon as they walked, and Munnimon accepted it gratefully, settling down on it carefully. After she had settled herself Jane reached out and stroked the bird's feathers.

"Come on," said Jane quietly, and with a slight nod from her friend the two of them continued their trek towards the temple ruins.

* * *

_Sheesh, those two must have put up quite a fight,_ thought Jane as she glanced around her, taking note of the boulders and deep gouges in the earth that were scattered across the landscape, not to mention the sheer amount of large footprints that littered the landscape around her. One set in particular called to her, due to the enormity of their size. Reptilian in appearance, and certainly larger than that of the other digimon tracks that were around. 

_An Ultimate? _Jane wondered before brushing the thought away, realizing that there wasn't much point in trying to discern the identities of the combatants. Size, she had learned long ago, though the most reliable way of determining a digimon's level was by no means the standard of all digimon. Besides, truth be told, she couldn't tell one digimon footprint from another, or at least when it came to _dinosaur_ tracks.

_Wonder who they were fighting?_

The question certainly begged to be answered. Ever since she had arrived on this plain she had noticed signs that there had been a struggle of some sort between those that she hoped that she was following and another group, possibly another group as well, and with the amount of data that her digivice was picking up whenever she passed through there had certainly been casualties being suffered by the pursuers. The data was far too old and fragmented to get a clear idea as to who or what digimon had been involved, and it wouldn't have told her who they owed allegiance too either. There were many powers both within and outside the digital world that could lay claim to these attacks, but if she was right about one of the pair whose trail she hoped she was on then the playing field could be narrowed down to only a few. Hopefully.

As Jane followed the trail marked on her digivice's halo-map, a memory flickered through her mind.

* * *

_A crowd of snobs led by a girl named Ashley Brahms was roughing up the kid in the halls, and during the struggle a small object had fallen out of his bag and slid over to where Jane had stood, watching the scene with mild disgust. Quickly, before anyone could see it she bent down and retrieved it, looking it over carefully to make sure that it was what she thought it was. It was shaped like her own, almost in the form of a T, but not quite, with smooth rounded angles and a screen; no buttons adorned it. The only major difference between the two was that while hers had black trim, his was green. His cry of surprise as he was shoved up against the wall caught her attention and she decided to step in. Ashley had laughed in her face, but once she saw the look on Jane's face she decided to not tempt fate. Jane had something of a 'reputation' that, while wasn't anything especially frightening, was enough to keep the flies off. She had looked the boy over as he watched Ashley and her troupe head to class, as if she were sizing him up, before returning his digivice to him._

"Keep track of your toys"_ she had told him before leaving herself._ "You don't want to end up losing them."

* * *

_It's gotta be the Aesir,_ thought Jane as she trudged up to the temple. _Or at least the Jotun. Heck, there's any number of powers from the Regin that would probably want to get their hands on him. His friend too if he's in the same boat. For some reason they're interested in these digivices, and since that one kid has one and has disappeared here, __**pulled **__into the digital world…_

Jane frowned as she let the thought drift.

_I've gotta find them and bring them back home,_ the girl thought to herself as she picked up her pace with a fierce determination in her steps, causing Munnimon to squawk in surprise before giving her partner a look of irritation, but didn't as yet say anything about the unexpected change in velocity. She had been with the girl long enough to know that Jane could at times be aggressive, heavily focused, and sometimes even narrow minded whenever she pursued something with a high degree of attention and passion, a trait that Munnimon sometimes admired and was wary of at the same time, as she could become somewhat irritable towards anything that could distract her during such times.

Even so, Munnimon wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

The two friends made their way carefully into the darkness of the temple, Jane pausing at the entrance to take a moment to rummage through her bag and produce a flashlight so that they would have an easier time looking around. There wasn't that much there to see really. Mostly rubble, collapsed columns and pillars of stone, a cracked door behind them… 

Jane focused her flashlight upon the door. Her digivice was indicating that that area was the last place that the signals were, so where were they? All she saw was an empty door filled with nothing more than shadows…

Panic seized Jane's heart and she dashed forward, Munnimon leaping off her shoulder and fluttering in the air as the girl raced up to the rubble, her hands scrabbling around on the stones as she flashed her light around, trying to find some sign of them… some sign that the two that she had been searching for were there, hopefully not dead, or even hurt. If they were, she'd… she'd…

Tears began to spring forth into Jane's eyes as she tried to push a shattered piece of a pillar out of her way. From her point of view it looked like it was lying on top of something and she had to see what it was! There was too much rubble in the way for her to see with her flashlight. Try as she might though, the pillar didn't so much as budge. Biting her lower lip angrily Jane punched the unyielding stone with her right fist, grunting in pain as her knuckles made contact with it. For a few seconds she stood there, feeling anguish at the possibility that she had been too late to rescue _them_… that they had been either killed or captured before she could bring them back home. She may have never known them personally, but she still felt responsible for them nonetheless. They were in the same boat as she was after all. Outside of Munnimon she hadn't had any help when she had received her digivice, and those two were probably even less prepared for this than she was! At least she had been looking for something to give meaning to her life…!

Jane cursed to herself and fought back the tears and pain. Thoughts like that weren't doing her much good. She had to clear her head so that she could properly think of a way to handle this recent development. Just because she didn't see them didn't mean that they weren't here, and she still had to clear away some of this rubble so that she could get a better idea of whether or not they were still in the vicinity. Though where they had gone now was beyond her. Maybe this temple had served as a gateway to another level in the digital world or maybe to the real world. Of course, whatever purpose it had served it was clearly gone now so she would have to think of a new way to track them down… that is, if their mangled bodies weren't still here, buried under this rubble.

_First things first,_ thought Jane as she began to turn to her partner.

"Munnimon…" she began only to stop cold in her feet, an act that caused her partner to blink and turn around to look behind her and quickly copy the expression on the dark haired girl's face. Behind them, standing at the entrance to the temple was an all too familiar figure. It was humanoid in appearance, and wore white and blue armor that otherwise would have been obscured by the brown cloak that it had draped over its shoulders, and to top it all off was the curved, bird like helm that covered its face that stared at them almost mockingly. She almost could have believed that it was human, if not for the fact that it was seven feet tall. She knew this being of old, and her partner did as well. Sadly enough, they could both say that their _acquaintance_ with this armored knight like figure was not anything that was of the friendly sort, but more in the _trying to do each other bodily harm_ kind.

"You…" Jane spat coldly at the figure as she raised her digivice, even though she knew that if a fight broke out here she and Munnimon were at a disadvantage. The room that they were in was far too small for Munnimon's evolved forms to maneuver and fight in affectively.

"Me," said the armored figure humorlessly before nodding at Munnimon, acknowledging her presence.

"Hello there, little sister…"

"Shut up," said Munnimon in an angry tone. The armored figure _tsked _at the bird, waving a finger at her.

"That's not the way that you treat family you know. I thought that you _remembered_ what we used to be…"

"_ 'What we used to be'_ is a good way to describe it," said Munnimon as she took a step backwards, inching towards her partner. "Both you and me in fact, but between the two of us you've changed the most and it certainly wasn't for the best. But then, memory was hardly your thing…"

"That's right," chuckled the armored figure. "It was yours. I always _thought_ too much. But that was the whole point after all. We were meant to be like the _Yin _and _Yang_ when it came to the mind…"

"Hey!" Exclaimed Jane angrily. "As much as I hate to interrupt your _reunion_ but you got a reason for being here?"

The armored figure chuckled again.

"Well, this place _is _Regin property… but I digress. To put your thoughts at ease, I'm not here to fight. I told you before that you were made _off-limits_, otherwise…well, never mind. As it turns out you're in luck. The ones that you seek you won't find here."

Jane blinked and glared at the armored form suspiciously.

"And we should trust you _why?_ And what makes you think that you even _know_ what we're looking for?"

The armored figure folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, like Munnin there…"

"_Munnimon!"_ The bird digimon clarified with a low growl, but the figure continued as if he hadn't even heard her.

"…My job was to find and gather information. Even with all the changes that I've gone through that part of me hasn't left. Why should it? It has proven to be so _very_ useful in the past. I keep my ear close to the ground and I hear things, like the tale of the Keeper marked by _Ahuramon's Shadow_. Not something that happens everyday you know."

The figure paused and looked at the diminutive bird digimon before him, standing between him and the dark haired girl that was glaring angrily at him.

"See what you turned down _Munnin_? You could have found him much, much sooner had you not joined with this human. But then, your interests would have been different too I'll wager. Why you chose to stay with her I'll never understand…"

"Not that I even care for you too," growled Munnimon under her breath.

"…But the reason for my being here is that I've chosen to help you. Why? Because far too many groups are starting to stick their noses into my interests, and I would rather that someone that I _know_ and can _trust_ to do the job of keeping their hands off my interests then to let them have it for themselves."

Jane narrowed her eyes. For some reason she could easily believe this being on his trusting her to protect his interests. She had proven herself in the past, and her own status in the powers eyes gave them even more reason to believe that, though she hated it. But she couldn't believe that this being, someone that had tried to kill her in the past would just approach her and help her (as well as himself) with a job that he could handle on his own.

The armored figure laughed again, as though sensing the girl's doubts.

"Better decide soon _Raven_," the figure said sarcastically. "Loki and the Shadow are closing in on your friends," Jane's eyes widened as he spoke those names. She had heard them spoken in whispers before, and nothing that she had been told since were good things. "They've gotten away a few times, slipping through their fingers, but sooner or later their luck will run out. That's the way that the universe works you know. Gods notwithstanding. You could choose to abandon your search, knowing full well that I can track them down any time that I want, because your being there might provide me with another advantage, one that will tip the scales of power. Of course, I have other things to worry about at present so I have no time to play the Shepard, which was why I would rather that you do it. So… what's it going to be _Raven?_ The devil you know versus the devil's you've heard. Lesser of evils? Or the greater?"

The figure raised his left arm and twisted his wrist a few times, as though imitating a watch's presence upon it, indicating that time was running out for her.

"Tick tock," the figure said mockingly. "The game is locked, and no one else can play. Come on _Pure Born. _Make a choice."

Jane gritted her teeth angrily.

_Damn you Huginn…_

* * *

7 


	19. Reflections

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 18/ Reflections

"_Thank you for getting back to me in so short a time."_

"_Worried?"_

"_That you wouldn't show up? No. You owe me for helping you with Ahuramon, though it was mutually beneficial for both of us, it helped you survive, and with your sense of honor I highly doubt that you would simply discard everything that I've done for you, especially now that you're one of the __**newly manifested**__. I take it that you had no trouble leaving your shrine in Izumi?"_

"_Can we just cut to the chase here? The sooner we get this over with the better…"_

"_In a hurry, eh? Or is it because you don't approve? Oh well. You're business is your own, just like mine is my own. We all have our personal quests after all… our own duties. Makes me wonder how you can live with yourself, but that's beside the point. I've recently received a communiqué from one of my servants from the digital world… the one trying to find any traces of more Keepers? It seems that he's found __**one**__, and in a world where Ahuramon has recently sent an agent… and where I had lost two servants of mine as well."_

"_So you want __**me**__ to handle this one now? To go to this other human world and deal with the Keeper that's there?"_

"_I feel that you are the most ideally suited for this task. The name __**Digimon Queen**__ was mentioned in my servants last message at the time of his self-destruction…"_

"_Ah… I see now."_

"_Yes. She is quit the topic of conversation among digimon who are searching for a Tamer… well, she and the Legendary Tamer, especially the Legendary Tamer and with good reason."_

"_Do I sense an irony in your choosing me to handle this?"_

"_Well, that goes without saying…"_

* * *

Ryan looked down at Richoemon, worry clear on his face as he sipped a drink through a straw, the little dinosaur wincing every so often from the injury that he had sustained in his battle with that other Gargomon. Ryan could sympathize. Taking a shot directly in the mouth like that had to be tantamount to a sore throat of the worst kind. He was lucky that digivolving had healed him from the worst of the attack; otherwise he'd be free floating data by now. 

"Thanks again Rika," said the brown haired boy turning away from his partner to look at his red haired companion who had been walking with him since the incident at the park. After the battle she had taken the two of them down to a place that she knew and bought Richoemon a cold drink to take the sting out of his injury until they could get to Hypnos and properly have him looked over and tended to.

"Don't mention it," the girl said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders as she did so. "Your partner took a pretty brutal hit there. It was the least I could do to make him feel better, but it's really only something to help make him comfortable until we get down to Hypnos…"

_"I'm not complaining…"_ Whispered Richoemon hoarsely in between sips as he held the Styrofoam cup carefully in his claws. Rika looked down at the little dinosaur and a smile crossed her face, looking a little bit like an embarrassed smirk before turning away, her eyes becoming introspective as she remembered the data packets that the Gekomon used to help heal Andromon when they first found him. There were occasions after battles where she wished that they could get their hands on some to help their partners feel better and heal faster, but unfortunately they didn't have an easy way to do that. The digital world was still a mysterious place that had yet to be fully explored, and entering and leaving it was still difficult to do even under the best of circumstances.

_Oh well. No use complaining about what we don't have_, thought Rika as she settled her gaze on the _Tamer_ that she walked along side with. Her violet eyes shifted for a quick second as she caught sight of Renamon phasing in and out of view above them. Looking back at Ryan, Rika frowned, taking note of the worry that she saw in his expression. Of course, he had a lot of reasons to worry. He had been trapped in the digital world for who knew how long, with no idea what was going on with his family back home. To top it all off he had some crazy virus code stuck in both him and his partner. Granted, the problem seemed to be in remission now so there was little reason to be concerned about it, and he had regular checkups to make sure that things stayed that way, but…

Rika thought back to the fight in the park, when he had frozen up during the last few minutes of battle, at a crucial moment that would have cost both of them their partners and likely their lives as well, and her mind paused on the memory, pondering it for a moment with a cool eye as she read the expression on Ryan's face. The two of them continued onwards in silence for a few minutes longer.

"All right," Rika finally said, picking up the threads of conversation again. "What's up?"

Ryan blinked as he looked at the girl, startled.

"Huh? What do you me…?"

"Don't give me the _I'm going to play dumb_ act," the red headed girl said, sounding slightly annoyed now. "I get that enough from Takato as it is…"

"I'm not _playing dumb_," grumbled Ryan as he looked away with a slight frown on his face. "It's just…" Ryan paused as his face softened, his gaze now looking inwards. "…It's nothing really…"

Ryan mentally winced as he felt Rika's penetrating gaze settle on him once more and he resisted the urge to check and see if any birds were taking flight out of a collective sense of self preservation. Ryan frowned again as he took a moment to roll the Tamer's question around in his mind, wondering whether or not he should just tell her what was on his mind. After all she _was_ asking, and she did show some measure of concern, though just how much fluctuated depending on her mood. Frankly both he and Chris found her a little bit difficult to be around because of her rather forceful personality, but he had to admit that if nothing else it certainly got results. She had snapped him out of his own paralysis during the battle with that Gargomon and Richoemon digivolved because of that, healing most of his injuries in the process. If she hadn't been there Richoemon would most definitely be dead, and he himself along with him, and since she had been there with the other Tamers from the moment that he, Chris, Richoemon, Caramon, and Leomon had arrived in Shinjuku, offering help and a place to stay until their family was contacted and they were allowed to go home, he supposed that he owed her that much. He still wasn't too keen on the idea of involving the others in his problems since he barely knew them and could probably do without having something like this being dropped in their laps unexpectedly but…

"All right," said Ryan closing his eyes for a second and heaving a light sigh. "It's just that I have a lot on my mind right now. There's a lot going on that seems so uncertain right now, and sometimes…" Ryan paused as he considered his next words. "… I guess that I'm afraid of what might happen if things go too far and I can't get out of it. I don't like seeing anyone get hurt but no matter what I can't seem to stop that from happening. I'm… I'm not cut out for this sort of thing."

Rika looked at the boy out of the corner of her eye, measuring his words as he said them but at the present she said nothing in response to them, and kept her face neutral as she contented herself with just listening until he was finished with what he had to say. In the past she would have made a sarcastic remark, particularly in regards to his admittance of fear and his own lack of belief in himself as a Tamer, and that habit continued to come out every now and then, but as on other occasions where she had lent a listening ear to someone who needed it be it Jeri, Henry, Takato, Ryo… yes, even Ryo on the extremely rare occasion that he let his guard down enough… Rika listened carefully and did not interrupt, and only spoke when either asked a question or when the speaker was finished.

If nothing else, she could see where he was coming from. Having experienced the negative side of being a Tamer before, she could understand why Ryan felt the way he did. There was once a time where she was perfectly happy with fighting, living on the thrill that danger provided. But as time wore on, as it always does, events had drastically altered her view of things, and with what had happened to Jeri and Leomon in the climactic battle with Beelzemon she had come to dislike fighting. At the same time though she knew that she couldn't very well walk away from it either.

But how to convey that; her experiences, her thoughts and feelings on the issue was the real challenge here. Or at least do so in a way that didn't completely and totally crush the kid's spirit since he would be needing it if things continued on with the way that they had been so far.

_This is something that's more in Henry's field of expertise,_ thought Rika as she narrowed her eyes in slight irritation. Rika turned her head to look at Ryan so as to get a more full view of his facial expressions, so that she could have an idea on how to best approach the subject. She saw reservation and uncertainty, and perhaps a faint glint of hidden fear to go with the first two emotions, but also a willingness to keep going despite everything that had been thrown at him so far.

_At least he has the guts to admit that he's afraid,_ she thought.

"It's not easy," said Rika after a few moments of silence had passed. "Believe me, it's not, and out of all of us I think Jeri would know that best, and I get the feeling that you have an idea yourself otherwise you would still be stuck somewhere in the digital world, in that desert that Chris said that you and he wound up in when you were dragged into that place. This isn't something that you can just walk away from, especially when considering what's been going on lately. Quitting won't keep the bad guys from coming after you, and since you were chosen to be a Tamer that means that you have to act like one and accept the responsibility that was given to you."

Ryan frowned.

"Chosen… I don't get that. How exactly was I _chosen_? And just what _are_ my responsibilities here? I've been given a digivice and partnered up with Richoemon," Ryan indicated the little orange dinosaur with a nod of his head. "But so far I have no clear idea what it is that I'm doing…"

"Then it's a good thing that you have us here to help out," said Rika, narrowing her eyes at the boy. Ryan held her gaze for a second before looking away, not at all satisfied with her response.

"And just what is it that you guys do anyway? From what I've seen you act a little bit like a police force for whenever digimon enter the real world and cause havoc."

Rika closed her eyes and _hmmphed_. "Henry could explain it better than me, or at least his dad can when we get to Hypnos."

Ryan glowered. He had just been at Hypnos prior to the fight with Gargomon. He wondered if Henry was still there, and if he could shed any light on things. Probably not. Rika he had learned was pretty experienced with this kind of thing, about as much as Henry and if she didn't have a clear idea about the ins and outs or the how's and whys then Henry probably didn't either even though he seemed to be the type who probably gave the matter a lot of thought. Maybe it was best to just go with the flow for now until he was surer about all of this. But he had to admit that he knew a lot more about what was going on now then he did before, and like Rika said, he and Chris had the Tamers to help them out as well.

Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well… I know that I've said this a lot already…"

"Let me guess," interrupted Rika with a bland expression on her face. "You're going to say how much you appreciate what we're doing for you and your friend right?"

Ryan winced. The way she had said that sounded like either his saying _thank you_ or just their presence overall was starting to annoy her.

"Um… yeah. Pretty much."

A small, satisfied smile made itself known on Rika's face, causing the boy to relax a bit at the sight of it.

"Don't mention it," the girl said in a soft, but amused tone as the two of them continued to make their way towards Hypnos.

* * *

The sound of someone knocking on a door resounded throughout the Katou household and a muffled _'Jeri, could you get that?'_ soon followed in response. 

"Yes Mom!" Called out Jeri as she happily raced downstairs and skipped down in the direction of her home's door, mentally commenting on the oddity of someone taking the time to knock on the front door of her families home instead of just coming in through the restaurant area like most people did. Well, her friends occasionally did that when they brought their partner's along and didn't want to spook the customers (they needed no encouragement from Jeri's father for that) so then maybe… oh well. She would find out soon enough once she got there, and she was far too happy at the moment to give it more than a seconds thought. And she had plenty of reason to be. Her partner, Leomon had come back from the dead (though how he had done so was something that still piqued her curiosity, and the other Taemrs as well, from time to time) and she was going to hold a _Welcome Back_ celebration in his and the other two Tamers honor. They may not have died and returned from the dead as Leomon had, but they had gone to the digital world and returned with him so it was only fitting to celebrate their return as well even if she didn't know them all that well. All seemed to be going well in her eyes. Two kids were back in the real world after months of being stuck in an alternate dimension… true, there looked to be some trouble brewing on the horizon but she felt more than ever, in an almost exuberant rush of energy akin perhaps to a high, that she and her friends would be able to handle it, and that together they would fight… and win. Life would return to normal… no, _better_ than normal because now Leomon was back, and Impmon could finally, and completely let go of the guilt that he continued to feel over his part in the lion digimon's death…

Well, maybe that was a little childish to think let alone hope for given everything that they had all been through but Jeri really did hope that Leomon's _rebirth_ would help Impmon find the strength that he needed to move past that stage in his life and forgive himself. Although she had forgiven him for what he had done prior to his return to the digital world shortly after D-Reaper's defeat she continued to sense a lingering guilt about him.

Jeri frowned as the image of the mischievous little gremlin, well; _imp_ came to mind as she approached the entrance to her home. Where _was_ Impmon, she wondered. Renamon had said that he was going to inform the Rookie Virus of Leomon's return but so far she had heard nothing from him and not even Leomon had so far mentioned anything about him from his travels throughout the city. It was rather unlike him given the amount of time that had passed. She had at least expected him to drop by just to check up on her, or ask about the new Tamers that had inexplicably shown up.

_Well, maybe he just needs some time to adjust to it,_ thought Jeri as she grabbed hold of her home's doorknob and pulled it open, and a second later all thoughts of Impmon left her mind.

"Takato," whispered the brown haired girl as her eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected guest that now stood on her doorstep.

"Hey Jeri," chirped Takato, rubbing the back of his head tentatively as he fought back what looked to be a blush. Fortunately for Takato, Jeri didn't get a chance to take much notice of it as Guilmon piped in his two cents.

"Ohhh… no _hello _for me?"

"Guilmon…" Giggled Jeri as she bent forward and patted the crimson dinosaur on his head, causing Guilmon to laugh childishly.

* * *

"I'm telling you," said Chris irritably as he glared at his red trimmed digivice with a look that promised almost certain retribution to the little device if it didn't start giving him the information that he requested. "There was a signal just a few minutes ago and now there isn't one. I don't get it!" 

"Maybe it's busted," said Kazu sarcastically. " 'Cause none of our digivices picked up anything…"

"Kazu," said Kenta in a voice that was a strange mixture of a whine and a scolding. "They _did_ pick up something, but they stopped after the first second."

"Yeah, and what does that tell ya? Yamaki probably zapped it with one of his famous programs or something…"

"So why did Chris's digivice keep saying that there was a digimon signal in the park even _after_ ours stopped?"

Kazu paused and frowned, looking downwards at the dirt and kicking at it with his shoe as he tried to come up with a reasonable comeback, but failed.

"All right," he said after a couple seconds. "You've got me there. Maybe the big bad digimon are capable of hiding themselves from our digivices or something, I don't know…"

Chris's eyes snapped up at the visor-wearing boy, widening in surprise as they did so before looking over at Kenta to see what he thought about that statement. It only took a couple seconds for it to sink in for both of them.

"Kazu?" Asked Kenta in shock. "Did you just…"

"Huh? What're you…?" The wild haired brunette halted mid sentence and blinked. "Dude. I don't believe this…"

"You don't think that…?"

"I was only _joking_!" Exclaimed Kazu. "I can't believe it! I was only joking about it, but now that I think about it…"

Kazu groaned in frustration and turned around, crossing his arms and glowering in an eerie imitation of Rika whenever she got annoyed at something. Chris looked over at Kenta.

"Do you think that we should tell Yamaki about this? I mean, we've only experienced this once so far as I can recall…"

"I guess so," said Kenta as he lowered his chin and raised one hand to scratch it thoughtfully. After a second the dark haired, bespectacled boy turned to look at the diminutive, pink colored fairy that floated next to him, watching him carefully. "What do you think MarineAngemon?"

MarineAngemon made a few high-pitched squeaks mixed with _Pih's _and _puhs,_ to which Kenta nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Yamaki should be told."

Chris and Caramon blinked.

"I still don't understand how you get all of that out of what he says," said Caramon in pure disbelief. Even after these past few days of knowing the Tamers, their digimon, and the odd quirks and personalities that each of them had there were still some things that was just beyond their grasp of understanding.

"Eh," said Kazu shrugging. "That's just how they are. MarineAngemon's a mon of few words and Kenta's brain is probably primitive enough to understand it…"

"Hey!" Cried Kenta indignantly.

"…But the way I figure it, it's probably like Morse code or something and only Kenta knows it. Seriously Chumley, a little play by play on what he says might help those of us who aren't in the know a lot."

"Um…" began Kenta only to be interrupted as Chris cut in.

"As fascinating as that sounds, don't you think that we should go and get a hold of Yamaki now? 'Cause the idea of digimon getting around your digivice's detection capabilities sounds way more important…"

"I don't know, Chris," said Caramon from his position on his blonde haired partner's shoulder. "Figuring out how to translate what MarineAngemon says sounds pretty important to me. Almost as important as figuring out where Calumon puts all that food he gets…"

Chris looked over at Guardromon to see the little creampuff of a digimon calmly munching on a piece of chocolate that Kenta had bought him to make him leave Kazu alone.

"You have terrible priorities Caramon. You better not be emulating Terriermon again. Okay, now is there a payphone nearby we can use?"

"Why?" Asked Kazu, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"So that we can get in touch with Ya…maki…" Chris let the sentence die off as yet another revelation hit home for him, and a second later his shoulder's sagged as he let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Please tell me that you have his number…"

"Um… I might have left it in my other wallet," mumbled Kazu, looking over at Kenta, who blanched.

"What're you looking at me for?"

_Why do I feel like I'm in a reenactment of the 'Three Stooges' comedy? _

Chris's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his digivice gave yet another alarm.

* * *

At the top of a building standing close to Shinjuku Park, air rippled and warped for a moment, and a second later tore apart as an all too familiar fog like barrier appeared before being blown away, revealing the figure that had crossed the barriers between the worlds. Standing tall, gaze fixated outwards and scanning the horizon was a female figure, white hair blowing in the wind as she held a long staff in a red gloved hand, seeing but at the same time not seeing, utilizing a mystical gaze that enabled her to penetrate the area around her as she scanned for any sign of her target. After a moment her mouth pressed into a thin line as she processed the information that she had gathered so far. 

_Gargomon you idiot,_ the figure thought irritably to herself. _I told you that if you charged into situations like this without checking out the competition, one day something like that would happen to you._

The figure stood on the rooftop a moment longer, pondering what she had learned for a moment before vanishing from view, her crimson armored form disappearing like a kitsune's illusion.

_Loki is not going to be happy about this…_

* * *

A/N: Not too much going on in this chapter. Mostly character interaction and development (which I felt was important in the telling of the story) but it's more or less to set things up for yet again another action filled scene, one that will start the task of really driving the plot of this story forward. Anyway, hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and two kudos bars to anyone who can figure out who the mysterious character at the end is. Heh, she's going to have a very _special_ role to play in the upcoming chapters (if you can figure out what that role is you get eight hundred kudos bars, a spoiler, and I will bow before your all knowing mind). Anyway, 'till next time then. Later. 

-Crazyeight

* * *

9 


	20. A Brewing Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 19/ A Brewing Storm

Ryo Akiyama's thoughts were focusing on his intended meeting with the other Tamers as he made his way through Shinjuku Park, believing that to be the most likely place to find them (as had proven to be the case often enough in the past) in order to tell them in full about the _Raven_ girl that he had met in the digital world and pitch his idea to them about trying to find her and bring her back to the real world. He wasn't at all too sure how they would be able to do so if they decided that it was in their best interests to find this _Raven_ that he had mentioned before (and odds were they would, especially Takato since he always leapt forth to do _the right thing_, even when realistically it wasn't the easiest or smartest thing to pull off). Getting to the digital world after all, was not without its difficulties and normally required a portal of sorts, and if failing that some form of outside assistance, usually in the form of a Digimon Sovereign like Azulongmon, and since the portal in Guilmon's den had dissipated shortly after the return of their partners, as well as the fact that the Sovereigns were notoriously difficult to get a hold of (and generally one didn't seek them out so much as they did you) it didn't look like a trip to the digital world was going to happen any time soon.

Ryo frowned as a thought suddenly came to mind and he cursed himself for not thinking about it sooner.

_I wonder why Azulongmon hasn't contacted me yet. He normally monitors my activities when he calls me to the digital world so he's got to know that I'm not there anymore. When I was last there, I noticed some unusual stuff going on, that girl and that weird Druid guy she was with notwithstanding. There were an unusual amount of digimon migrations moving back and forth across the digital world and even between the digital and real worlds like what happened during the Parasimon invasion. Digimon are moving out of their usual territories, and Azulongmon mentioned something about a disturbance on the digital world's borders, which is nothing new I guess, but if it makes a Sovereign like Azulongmon worried then it has __**got**__ to be trouble._

Ryo thought about some of the recent developments that had occurred since his return to Shinjuku. The arrival of the new Tamers (if that was what they actually were), the strange digimon like Apemon and Snimon that were so completely unlike anything that he had ever seen before, and given his vast experience accumulated from his dealings in the digital world that was saying quite a lot, and of course there were the two digimon, the Nightmare Blitzmon and BlackKnightmon that he had helped defeat a few days ago…

_Things are going to be getting interesting here soon,_ Ryo thought, and then, as though the thought were a trigger, his digivice gave a cry of alarm only to be cut off a split second later. On reflex, Ryo grabbed his digivice from his waist and brought it out to see what the deal was, but upon inspection found that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. At least, that's what his digivice was suggesting as he wasn't picking up any incoming signals.

_Second time it's done that today too,_ thought Ryo with a frown as he quickly switched over to Cyberdramon's point of view. So far the Ultimate was perched on top of a roof a short ways off, showing no sign that anything was amiss. Briefly Ryo wondered if his digivice was short-circuiting before shaking his head and deciding against it. Digivices, no matter what their make or model was, were very difficult to damage or destroy, though that may have been because the villain hadn't appeared yet who had made the attempt to destroy them. Though there were a couple that had been in a very good position to try, at least if some of the stories that he had heard were true…

Ryo considered going down to Hypnos and having one of their technicians, probably Henry's father, take a look at it but quickly decided against it. He was used to dealing with difficulties on his own and so far the odd alarms hadn't been disrupting his D-Arc's regular functions, and Cyberdramon was about as reliable as a digivice when it came to detecting digimon anyway. Ryo surmised that there was a good chance that there was a digimon trying to enter the real world but was more or less failing to do so, probably because of some new technology or program that Hypnos had put together in order to defend against the strange new digimon that had been coming through.

Shrugging his shoulder's Ryo continued his pace through the park until he rounded a corner and halted, his azure eyes widening in surprise as he took note of the scene of devastation in front of him.

_What the…?_

Ryo raised his D-Arc reflexively as his eyes scanned the area around him for any immediate hostiles. A halo circle appeared above his digivice and he spoke quickly and quietly to it, calling for Cyberdramon via the communication system that was programmed into it, and he smiled as he saw Cyberdramon's view of the world shift suddenly as he took flight, aiming straight towards Shinjuku Park as a low, guttural growl emerged from the back of his throat. Ryo lowered his digivice and crept forward carefully, his eyes moving around the area, carefully noting the damage that the area had sustained from… whatever it was that had happened here. Briefly he wondered just how it was that he or Cyberdramon had missed this, especially Cyberdramon as he hated to miss out on a good fight, and a good fight was certainly what it looked like. The ground was burned in some areas, and small pockets of what he guessed was weapons fire dotted the earth alongside the stamped imprints of footprints. Ryo furrowed his eyebrows for what had to be the hundredth time that day as he bent down to take a closer look. Although he was no expert on digimon tracking, at least not in the way that his savage Ultimate level partner was, he had gained enough experience from his time in the digital world to recognize certain imprints when he came across them as digimon tended to leave rather _unique_ footprints behind wherever it was they went. Two sets, although muddled now from the amount of fighting that had gone on here, were still discernable and easily recognizable.

_Those look like Kyubimon and Gargomon tracks,_ thought Ryo, looking the prints over carefully, taking note of their position and then looked over at the third. He didn't recognize them. A Wild One? Ryo looked back at the Kyubimon and Gargomon tracks. The way that they were placed, in relation towards each other, and not in a way that normally suggested friendliness, especially since there were small craters of weapons fire and burn marks where those tracks were. Ryo guessed that it was possible that one of the two sets that he was familiar with already was a Wild One that resembled one of the other Tamer's digimon. In which case it was possible that the third set of tracks was one of the new Tamer's digimon…

As Ryo pondered all of this he felt a gust of wind behind him and a shadow settled down on his back. Smiling Ryo turned around, getting ready to thank Cyberdramon for his timely arrival.

Ryo paused in surprise as soon as his widening eyes met the figure that stood behind him.

_Sakuyamon…?_ Was all Ryo had time to think before the figure took a step towards him.

* * *

Cyberdramon landed in the park with a snarl and glanced around him, testing the air with his nose before frowning beneath his facemask. Something was wrong here._ Very_ wrong. The scents that he was picking up, the feeling that he was sensing in the air… 

Cyberdramon stepped forward, and his foot bumped up against something as it came down. Looking down at the ground, Cyberdramon spied the familiar blue colored, white trimmed digivice that his partner, Ryo Akiyama had carried with him ever since they met up again in the digital world before meeting the other Tamers. Bending over, the savage Vaccine warrior dragon carefully picked up the D-Arc in his clawed hand and brought it up to his face, growling beneath his breath as he picked up Ryo's familiar scent… and something else along with it. Something _familiar_, but at the same time it wasn't. _Similar_ would have been a far better word to describe it in fact. Cyberdramon growled, trying to fight down his raging instincts for battle and at the same time trying to formulate an idea of what he should do next. His first objective of course was to try and locate Ryo of course, but as he had no idea on where he was the idea that it would be better to inform the other Tamers of the situation, loathe as he was to do so as it went against almost every instinct that he had. That is, unless Ryo _was_ missing, kidnapped or destroyed by the very entity that Ryo had called him for to combat…

Cyberdramon glanced around the area, feeling disappointment and bitterness rise in his heart like bile. The scene of battle was fairly fresh, but long over if he was any judge (and he was). The scents that he got were mixed, but recognizable. Two Tamers, Rika and one of the new ones, complete with their partners Kyubimon and Terradramon. The next scent, their opponent it seemed, had the smell of a Gargomon, albeit a strange one, but little else could he discern about it beyond what its species was. Then there was the more recent scent of Ryo and…

Cyberdramon grimaced, growling once again as he stamped forward, restraining the urge to launch an attack in the area to vent his frustrations. Raising Ryo's digivice Cyberdramon looked at it, raising a claw and pressing one of the buttons. Usually this sort of thing worked only for the Tamer that it was bonded to, but the cybernetic dragon did occasionally wonder if the digimon that the Tamer was partnered with could use it as well. It would be a strange waste if that weren't the case, though he wagered that its functions would be limited…

A halo circle suddenly appeared above the digivice, revealing the compass function, but beyond that it didn't seem to do much else except point at him. Growling yet again in annoyance Cyberdramon pressed the digivice's button again in an attempt to make it do something else, something _other_ than point out where his location was, only to fail at doing that. With a frustrated snarl Cyberdramon pushed off the ground and took to the air, taking a few moments to sweep around the area to see if he had missed anything before changing direction and heading towards Hypnos.

* * *

Impmon climbed carefully down from the rooftop, trying to shake the dazed feeling that he had been experiencing upon his waking up on the top of the building, and at the same time trying to figure out how it was that he had arrived there in the first place. As his feet touched down on the pavement he searched the broken fragments of his memory for any clue as to what had happened in the final moments before he… _passed out._

_Let's review,_ thought Impmon as he shook his head. _I was talking to my Tamers… telling dem dat I was going out for a bit to see an old friend who had recently arrived in town… I was hopping around da rooftops looking for any sign of Leomon… and den…_

Impmon frowned.

_Dere was a bright light, like a sun setting… and den…_

Impmon paused as his frown turned into a scowl. He couldn't remember what it was that had just happened that had deposited him on the top of a building, far away from where he had started from, with no recollection at all from whether or not he had encountered Leomon in his travels.

_Maybe I hit my head or somet'in,_ thought Impmon, but somehow he doubted that. Of course, the fact that he experienced no memory of having done so, complete with the lack of bruises and any pain in his skull helped make a point for that argument. So what was he left with?

Confusion clouding his mind, Impmon leapt into the air, hoping to find a way to clear his mind from the fog that had left him seemingly bereft of his most recent memories.

_I sure am hungry,_ thought Impmon as he soared through the air. _Maybe if I got somet'in to eat I could t'ink better… yeah, that's what I'll do… _

* * *

As the sun dipped closer to the horizon the small group of three children and four digimon raced down the streets, one of them, a blonde haired boy in a blue and black colored hoody with a small reptilian creature attached to his shoulder at the lead as he followed the signal that his digivice was picking up as behind him the others blazed a trail after him, making sure not to rush headlong past him. One of them, a brown haired boy wearing a visor held up an arc shaped device, glaring at it and hitting it with the palm of his hand every so often as though in an attempt to encourage it to do the job that the blonde haired boy's digivice was doing. 

"Nnnngh… C'mon already! Do something, will ya? This is getting kinda ridiculous…"

"Kazu," began a massive, rust colored robot from behind the boy. "Perhaps your mother's method of fixing appliances isn't quite the best way to go about things. Remember what she did to me? I still have some dents from her attack and I think some of my bolts are still loose…"

"Kazu scowled.

"She warned ya against standing on her flowerbed, Guardromon, but I'm starting to think that you're right anyway. I still don't get why Chris's digivice is the only one that's picking up a digimon signal while the rest of ours aren't doing didally squat."

"Wasn't that what we were going to ask Yamaki right before my digivice picked up this second signal?" Asked Chris as he slowed down a bit and looked up from his digivice. "I mean, I would certainly like the answer to that riddle myself…" Chris paused and took another look at his digivice before glowering. "Ah… nuts. I lost the signal."

Chris proceeded to mutter something under his breath about _stupid piece junk_ before promptly imitating Kazu's earlier antic by smacking the side of his digivice, and then grumbled even more when the act did not get any new results beyond an irritated sounding _beep_ from the gadget.

Caramon turned to look at his partner.

"I don't think it likes you."

"The feeling's mutual," grunted Chris as he stared at his digivice, trying to will it to pick up that signal again, but so far the digivice remained mute and unresponsive on that front.

"I guess that there's nothing else we can do except head down to Hypnos and let Yamaki know what's up," said Kenta, sounding a little disappointed at how things were progressing thus far. Kazu in the meantime ruffled his hands through his hair like a madman, groaning in exasperation as he did so.

"We can't just _give up_ here," the visor-wearing boy exclaimed vehemently. "There's a digimon out there and it's our duty to stop it! If we can't track it down using Chris's wacko digivice then we'll just have to try a different approach! You get what I mean Chumley?"

Kenta blinked.

"Uh… you just sounded like you were taking your job as a Tamer seriously."

Kazu looked like he was ready to blow a gasket at that comment.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't say that Chumley. 'Sides, you of all people should know that I take my duties seriously… I just have a different approach to it that's all."

With that said, Kazu turned to his mechanical partner behind him, and Guardromon swiftly snapped to attention, clanging his two feet together.

"Guardromon! Use your jets to give me some air coverage! I'll monitor ya through my digivice and we can see if there's anything out of the ordinary around." Kazu paused for a moment as he analyzed his statement and put it up against his partner's past experiences with taking orders. "And by _out of the ordinary_ I mean any digimon that we don't recognize and/or causing general havoc in the vicinity. I don't wanna hear any nonsense about how _digimon attacking the city is an __**ordinary**__ part of life around here… _"

"At your command Kazu!" Exclaimed Guardromon in an enthusiastic tone as his jet engines roared to life. Lifting off, the mechanical Champion digimon flew up into the air as Kazu held onto his visor, preventing it from being blown away by the thrust of his partner's thrusters. Once Guardromon had enough distance between them Kazu raised his D-Arc and a halo circle materialized above the screen, giving them a first person point of view of what Guardromon was seeing. Chris, Kenta, Caramon, and MarineAngemon crowded around him, looking over the boy's shoulder so that they could see what he was seeing.

"Okay, let's see… everything looks okay so far… no explosions… there's a flock of birds… Chris, you said that the signal looked like it was coming from the park right?"

"Yeah," said the blonde haired boy as Guardromon's eyes swiveled around.

"Hmmm… Okay, Guardromon," said Kazu, speaking to his digivice, once again thanking Suzie for inadvertently showing him and the other Tamers this trick when using it to find Lopmon during a game of hide and seek. "Can you check out the park area? Let's see what the situation is… WHOA! CYBERDRAMON AT TWELVE O'CLOCK!"

Sure enough there he was, the mighty Ultimate level Vaccine dragon soaring through the air. Guardromon followed his course, pinpointing it as heading towards Hypnos. The three boys blinked and looked at each other.

"Do you think…?" Began Kazu quietly.

"…That Ryo got it?" Finished Kenta.

"It would probably explain a lot," said Chris taking a look at the halo circle, placing his chin in his hand, as he looked the cyborg dragon over.

"Where's Ryo though?" Asked Kenta tentatively, causing Chris and Kazu to look at him in confusion.

"What do ya mean?" Asked Kazu. "It's not like he always has to be flying with Cyberdramon you know…"

"I guess," replied Kenta. "But… it's just that I would have thought that Ryo would be there with him if they had just finished up a battle, and seeing as how Cyberdramon is heading over to Hypnos you would think that Ryo would be there with him if he was… you know… going to report it."

The other two boys were silent for a moment.

"He does have a point," said Kazu. "As much as I hate to admit it if Ryo was in a hurry he'd be flying with Cyberdramon rather than going on foot…"

"Maybe Cyberdramon just wants to roost on a high place," put in Chris. The two Tamers didn't look like they were all that convinced by that, but for lack of anything better there was little that they could do to affirm. Besides, if things were cleared up anyway, and Cyberdramon was responsible for taking out not one but _two_ Wild Ones then it was possible that the signal problems were simply a result of the digimon being deleted. Of course, that did not completely rule out that digimon were finding a way to avoid detection, so they might as well head down to Hypnos anyway…

"KAZU!" Shouted Guardromon suddenly through the communication link with the boy's D-Arc, causing him to nearly drop his digivice in surprise.

"Guardromon!" Exclaimed Kazu as he grabbed a firm hold on his digivice. "Do you mind toning down the noise already? You just about had us thinking that Ayaka was aiming a rocket launcher at you!"

"Sorry…"

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"_Ayaka?"_

"Classmate of mine. Hates my guts. Long story."

"I'll bet." Chris looked over at Kenta, and indicated Kazu with a nod of his head. "He never does anything small does he?"

Kenta laughed.

"Not that I can think of…"

Kazu groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Can we move on with this already? What's up Guardromon?"

"I think that I've spotted Ryo…"

"Huh? All right! Where?"

The three boys and two digimon leaned in; focusing their attention on the halo circle as Guardromon showed them what he had spotted.

On top of a roof stood a tall, female figure dressed in red armor, with two long ponytails of white hair tied behind her, draping downwards and coming to a point like a _fox's_ tail. In one, red-gloved hand was a bronze staff that resembled a Buddhist vajra staff. And in the other was a face all too familiar to the children.

"RYO!"

Not even taking a moment to think about his actions, Chris leapt away from Kazu and Kenta, Caramon already springing from his shoulder as a light began to envelop him, equal in intensity to the light that was shining from Chris's digivice.

"CARAMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO… DRACARAMON!"

A second later, a large, quadruped, reptilian digimon hit the pavement, pausing just long enough for Chris to leap onto its back before surging forward, leaping upwards into the sky to reach the nearest rooftop in order to get to its soon to be opponent as quickly as possible.

Chris turned his head as his ears caught hold of Kazu shouting something at him. Too late to turn back now, especially if Ryo was in danger…

_Nuts,_ thought Chris forlornly. _I'll bet it was important too…_

* * *

"Aw man…" groaned Kazu as the reptilian digimon raced out of earshot. "This is not good. That kid really should learn to listen, or at least not react before he knows what he's getting himself into. I think that he's getting a little too used to this stuff." 

Kazu turned to Kenta to see the bespectacled boy looking at him oddly.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that for a second I thought you were talking about yourself there."

"Knock it off. We've got to do something to help Ryo. Even with Guardromon moving in to back him, Chris is _way _over his head here. I don't think he realizes just _how_ over his head he really is… we've got to call for backup! Kenta, send your little pink fairy after him!"

Kenta nodded and looked over at MarineAngemon, who in turn also nodded before flying off, fluttering his tiny wings as hard as he could to catch up to the errant Tamer and digimon.

Kenta turned to Kazu.

"So what do we do now?"

"Duh! We get in touch with one of the others! What'd you think?"

Looking around quickly, Kazu grinned as he spied a payphone and quickly ran over to it, picking it up and slipping in some coins before dialing the first numbers that he thought of. Kenta ran up to him.

"Who're you calling? Takato?"

"As much as I'd like to I can't take the chance on wasting this change on him being out! Besides, I want to test something first, and if my theory's correct then we'll be having backup here in no time!"

"What theory is that? Does it have anything to do with who you're calling?"

Kazu was about to answer when the line on the other end picked up.

"Tell ya in a minute," the boy said under his breath as he prepared to answer the recipient of his call.

"Rika…" Kazu began as off in the distance the sound of an explosion echoed upon the air.

* * *

9 


	21. A Bolt of Lightning

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 20/ A Bolt of Lightning

"…So yeah, the guy that Rika's mom is dating seems pretty nice," said Takato as he helped Jeri put some icing on the cake that was being readied for Leomon's surprise party. "I don't know how Rika could _not _like that guy…but then, that was the first time I ever met him, and Rika being Rika…"

Jeri smiled as she looked over at Takato from the other side of the cake.

"She's still not sure what to think of him, is she?"

Takato's face softened a bit as he finished putting on the last touches and leaned back to admire his handiwork. The lettering on the top of the cake, _'Welcome Back Leomon'_ was as close to flawless that could be humanly achieved with a squeeze tube of icing.

_I certainly have all that time at my parent's bakery to thank for that,_ thought Takato distractedly before giving Jeri's question the thought and consideration that it deserved. Thinking back over some of the things that she had confided in him shortly after the incident with Parasimon…things that had to do with her real father. It wasn't that she was bitter or anything about her mother choosing to go out with another man, or even consider marrying (if that was going to be the case in this matter), and she certainly had nothing against it but it did after a fashion make her feel awkward. There was the fact that she didn't really know the man at all, and was going to have to get used to him being around. Fortunately Tom handled things pretty well, and though she felt at times (well, rather _said_) that he tried to be her father, he didn't push things any more than their present relationship allowed, which so far had made him _tolerable_ in Rika's eyes. Of course, when Rika said something was _tolerable_, that was usually her way of saying that they had progressed to being on friendly terms, much like how things had been with Ryo…only without the vicious insults in the beginning.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Takato finally. "I wouldn't know for sure since I've always had just my parents and…uh…" Takato stammered and blushed in shame and embarrassment as he remembered that he girl in front of him had been in the same boat that Rika was now, only with the exception that Jeri's real mother had died instead of simply leaving in divorce. Although that he knew that Jeri had now moved on, due in part to the interference of a malevolent computer program bent on destroying all human and digital life, he still disliked bringing up the subject. Fortunately for his nerves, Jeri simply smiled softly at the boy and nodded in understanding, taking up the conversation from there as if nothing were wrong.

"I can see where she's coming from," said the brown haired, puppet-loving girl. "It took me a while to get used to my new mother…" Jeri's face fell for a moment as her voice dropped into a whisper. "…A lot longer than I would have liked." There followed a brief silence after which Jeri resumed speaking again, her voice firm, but carrying a note of reflection to it that told Takato that she wasn't hiding her emotions as she had done in the past, but merely looked back on them with a hint of sadness and…disappointment perhaps? Takato couldn't be sure.

"It took me a while to get used to my new mother," said Jeri. "It was hard for me to do because I didn't think that anyone could replace my birth mother. I was really only a kid then, and I didn't understand the changes that were going on in my life. I remember what my dad told me about how a part of my mother would always be with us, and all I could think of was where that part of her was. To see it…touch it…"

Jeri suddenly chuckled and smiled wanly, sniffing a little as her eyes began glistening.

"Jeri," said Takato with concern, reaching out with one hand to comfort her, only to pause uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

Jeri wiped at her eyes and nodded, her smile growing a little bit more and taking on some life to it.

"Yeah. It's just… I guess some things just aren't that easy to talk about even if you've accepted them. I imagine that that's sort of what Rika must be feeling when thinking about her mother's new boyfriend. I don't think that she's afraid that he'll replace her father but…it _is _a difficult thing to get used to."

Takato looked at Jeri softly, his heart wanting to do something for her, but not quite sure of how to do that. He hated seeing her, or any of his friends upset, and try as he might he never seemed to know what to say or do to help them feel better. He remembered one time when he had expressed such a sentiment to Rika when Henry's father had found out about Terriermon and the existence of digimon after a close call with one of Impmon's fireballs. She had told him then that he should consider keeping his nose out of other people's business. Of course, Takato doubted that the red headed Tamer would consider saying something like that now, having become much more warm hearted since those early days of their acquaintance, but the memory did come regardless. Still, he felt that he couldn't just stand by. He wanted to say something that would help her feel better…

But that was just the trick, wasn't it?

The image of Leomon appeared in his minds eye, and somehow it seemed to give him encouragement.

"Jeri," Takato began. "I…"

Takato halted in mid-sentence as suddenly his keen ears picked up the sound of someone, Jeri's little brother he thought, gasping in surprise followed shortly afterwards by Guilmon's familiar growls. Both his and Jeri's digivices gave a cry of alarm at that moment, and were silenced within seconds. Bringing them out the two Tamers looked at their blank screens curiously, wondering what was going on.

_I wonder if it was a false signal,_ thought Takato as he fiddled with the button on his D-Arc and cursing himself for not knowing anything more about the digivices capabilities. Sighing in frustration Takato looked out towards the exit of the kitchen, Guilmon's growls still quite prominent in the silence that had settled over the house.

_Guilmon doesn't seem to think that it's the case though._

Walking over to the kitchen door Takato stuck his head out and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Jeri's little brother slowly backing away from the crimson dinosaur, eyes wide with fear as the digimon stood, muscles tense and growling.

"Guilmon?" Asked Takato worriedly. He didn't believe that Guilmon would do anything to endanger Jeri's little brother, or anyone else for that matter unless he had no other choice but the way Guilmon looked was reminiscent of his early days as a Tamer; Days where he worried about controlling Guilmon and whether or not he'd hurt anyone.

"Takato," said Guilmon, his voice harsh. "I sense a digimon. And it's _really_ big…"

Takato walked up to Guilmon and rechecked his digivice, Jeri following shortly afterwards.

"Are you sure?" Asked Takato, wondering about Guilmon's senses. _Big_, when it came to Guilmon, usually translated as a digimon that was of high level, and extremely powerful. Although he had never had any reason to doubt his partner, there was one little X factor that for once made him wonder. "I mean, the digivice only picked up a signal for a second. Maybe Yamaki got it or something…"

Guilmon shook his head vigorously.

"M-mm! I'm sure. There's a digimon here. We've got to find it!"

By this point Jeri had activated her digivice and the halo circle that hovered above its screen was giving her an image that was undoubtedly from Leomon's point of view. Her brow furrowed and lips pursed as she took in what she saw.

"Takato! He's right! There is a digimon out there! The others are fighting it right now somewhere in the city! Leomon's headed there now!"

Takato's face hardened and he turned to Guilmon.

"All right! Are you ready boy?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Then let's go!" Takato paused a moment to look at Jeri as he readied his D-Arc. "Don't worry Jeri. We'll take care of everything!"

"I'm coming with…"

"No!" Said Takato firmly, fixing his gaze on Jeri's. Jeri's eyes widened in surprise at his tone and she stared back. After a second Takato, having realized how he must have sounded lowered his eyes.

"Sorry Jeri. It's just…if this digimon is as strong as Guilmon says it is then I'm going to need to biomerge with Guilmon and I…I don't think that it would be a good idea to transport you to the battle if things are going to get chaotic. I don't want you to get hurt out there…"

Jeri opened her mouth to argue, knowing what it was that Takato was getting at. After all, her partner was at this moment heading out into said battle, and was going to need her help if he was to fight affectively. Still, Takato did have a point, and if he stopped to argue about the pros and cons of getting her there to help out something bad might happen. A friend could get killed if he was delayed.

_I know that he just wants to protect me,_ thought Jeri, remembering what the others had told her about his titanic struggles to try and free her from the D-Reaper. _But I'm still a Tamer. I __**can**__ help. I __**have**__ to, and staying out of danger won't help me be of any help to them._

Takato stood there, his body tense waiting for her to answer. Realizing that time was slipping away, Jeri closed her eyes and nodded, and a second later Takato and Guilmon were both running towards the nearest exit of Jeri's home. Takato looked over his shoulder and called out to his friend.

"Don't worry Jeri! We'll make sure that Leomon stays safe!"

After the two of them had disappeared from her site, Jeri waited, counting in her head. A few seconds passed and she heard the sound of a door slam, and then Takato's call of evolution as both he and Guilmon merged together to form the exalted knight known as Gallantmon. At the sound of the Mega's leaping into the air Jeri ran towards the back door.

Just because Takato didn't want to see her in danger didn't mean that she still couldn't try and help Leomon in the battle that was already raging in the city.

* * *

_I am __**so**__ going to kill Gogglehead when I see him again,_ thought Rika sarcastically as she soared through the air, having merged with Renamon to form the Mega shaman known as Sakuyamon after having persuaded Ryan and his partner to sit this battle out due to Richoemon's injuries. _I can't believe that he gave Kazu my cell phone number! I mean, sure I can understand his reasoning from what Kazu told me but still! He __**gave**__ Kazu my cell phone number! Arrrgh!!!_

To recap, Rika had received a call on her mobile phone just as she was entering Hypnos with that Ryan kid, and upon finding out that it was _Kazu_ _Shioda_ of all people that had contacted her (perhaps one of the few people that she claimed to be more annoying than Ryo, though even that was pushing it) she had launched into an interrogation on the visor-wearing child to find out just how he had been able to reach her. It didn't take her long to wring a name out of him actually, as circumstances were such at the moment that a drawn out argument over the subject was not necessarily in their best interests at the moment. She was a little irritated, but seeing as how this had been one of those rare occasions where Takato's _Einstein moments_ actually had a spark of brilliance to them she was going to let it go. Besides, if what she was seeing from this distance was any indication it was, loath as she was to admit it, perhaps best that _someone_ had thought to extend their communication capabilities beyond what they were used to socially.

_From what I'm looking at right now, it's probably just as well that Kazu __**did**__ get in touch with me…

* * *

_Chris and Dracaramon landed on top of the roof, directly behind the strange, crimson armored female figure that looked like a cross between a fox and a Buddhist shaman, their arrival immediately catching the shaman's notice. With one, smooth motion the strange kitsune, shaman dropped what looked like a boy down on the ground and swung her staff in one, wide arch, releasing a wave of pure, red energy towards the new arrivals.

"Hang on, Chris!" Said Dracaramon loudly as he leapt above the oncoming surge of energy. Chris gripped his partner all the more tightly and gulped, hoping that the sudden increase in speed and direction didn't make him lose his lunch.

_All this time spent with the guy and I __**still**__ can't stop myself from feeling just a little bit nauseous whenever he performs his aerial tricks. Oy…_

As soon as Dracaramon was coming back down, Chris prepared himself to hop off his partner's back, knowing that Dracaramon wouldn't be able to fight at his full strength if he had to make sure that his human partner didn't get hurt from the close proximity to the fighting. Of course, judging from the type of attack that their opponent had just used on them, Chris had the sinking feeling that that wasn't really an issue any more.

As soon as Chris got off Dracaramon lunged at the female figure, one fore claw extended and glowing with a rainbow like radiance that was typical of the reptile's _Diamond Claw _attack. The female, shaman entity was unconcerned however with the much larger, reptilian creature that was rushing towards her. In fact, she almost seemed to welcome his attack! Smoothly, gracefully, as if she had absolutely no concern in the world about her attacker, the crimson armored female stepped to the side, dodging Dracaramon's attack and then grabbed a firm hold of his outstretched front leg with her free arm. The next motion involved a subtle shift of her shoulder, and as Chris watched, eyes widening in surprise, Dracaramon's body lifted into the air where it almost seemed to hover for a second right before gravity laid claim over his form and brought it crashing down to the rooftop, causing a spider web of cracks to form where the massive Champion had fallen.

"Uh, oh," was all Chris could say in response to that, and even then those words came out as a small whisper. As the shaman raised the pointed end of her staff above his partner, aiming it towards his throat, Chris wished that he _had _stayed behind to hear what Kazu was trying to say to him.

_No…it can't __**end **__like this! It CAN'T!_

**"Guardian Barrage!"**

Before the strange shaman digimon could bring the spear-like point of her staff down on Dracaramon a twin pair of cartoon like missiles blowing whistles streaked towards her and impacted with deadly force, knocking her back a bit and giving Dracaramon enough time to recover and get out of the way before she could launch a counter attack. Breathing a sigh of relief and thanking whatever gods existed for Guardromon's timely arrival Chris took a moment to raise his digivice and activate its analyzer program to see what sort of opponent he and the others were up against. The results almost made him choke in surprise.

**Sakuyamon (Red variation)**

**Stage: Mega**

**Type: Data**

**Attacks: Amethyst Mandala, Crystal Sphere, Spirit Strike, Amethyst Wind, **

_A Mega?! _Thought Chris, his mind taking on a sense of delirium at the thought. _I put Dracaramon up against a __**MEGA**__ and didn't take the time to analyze it beforehand?! What was I __**thinking?!**__ Even with Guardromon and MarineAngemon backing Dracaramon we don't stand a chance! The stats that I'm getting here are __**way**__ too high for us to combat affectivel…_

Chris halted in his thoughts, blinking as his eyes looked down and caught sight of the unconscious figure that lay near the Sakuyamon.

_Hang on…is that…Ryo?_

Before his mind could even begin to fully process the possible implications that Ryo's presence in the hands of the Sakuyamon, the red shaman Mega dashed towards him, knocking Dracaramon down with a kick as he made to stop her. One, red-gloved hand stretched out towards the blonde haired boy. There was no time for him to get out of the way…

**"Kahuna Waves!"**

Chris blinked once again in surprise as suddenly the shaman digimon was enveloped in a pink colored heart, halting the Mega's advance. Her hand balling into a fist and smashing into, the red Sakuyamon beat on the heart shield angrily, but so far to no avail.

"Pihpihpih!" Exclaimed a cute, childish voice that Chris had come to know so well after about a week's time of living in Shinjuku. Craning his head over his shoulder Chris saw the two forms of Guardromon and MarineAngemon flying towards him. Although he had no idea as to what Kenta's partner had just said, the frantic look on the little pink fairy's face told him all that he needed to know. Taking the hint, Chris backed off at rapid speed. Though the space as to where he could go was limited, _anywhere_ that wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the red Sakuyamon was about as good as the next.

_Had she come after __**me**__ specifically just now?_ Chris wondered as he rushed over to where the dormant body of the boy, Ryo Akiyama lay, turning him over to see if he was all right. _And what was she doing with Ryo?_

Turning to look at the Sakuyamon Chris frowned. The shaman was extending rings of crimson energy around her, forcing the heart bubble that she was trapped in to expand. Soon, if MarineAngemon's bubbles followed normal laws of physics, the heart would reach a breaking point and then pop. They had to be ready to handle it as best as they could until backup came. _If _backup came…

Chris shook his head, dispelling those thoughts as quickly as they came. He could already see Cyberdramon making his way over to the roof that they were fighting on, the battle having caught his attention. And there looked to be something flying behind him, though much further off so he couldn't tell for certain what it was; hopefully one of the other Tamers who could help him and the rest against this digimon.

Raising his digivice, Chris felt a familiar electrical current cross his palm as the light of evolution enveloped his partner, and a second later the Champion was replaced by the mechanized war-machine known only as…

"…METAL DRACARAMON!"

Steel claws slamming to the earth, Metal Dracaramon growled as the glow of digivolution died down.

_This ought to help things out a bit,_ thought Chris grinning, belying how he was really feeling underneath. This would be the first time that he had ever thrown down with a Mega level digimon. There wasn't a chance that this was going to be an easy fight. Not at all…

Ryo was groaning as the shaman digimon continued to expand her rings. The heart was getting close to the breaking point now. Chris's eyes took in each and every digimon partner that was already in visual range, and his digivice began to glow slightly. For the first time Chris felt as though he were in sync with each and every one of them…no, with the _whole world _around him! It was as if he was finally seeing the world in three dimensions and he had never realized it until this point! In a way…it felt…_good._

Chris's eyes settled back on the Sakuyamon. It seemed that for an instant the shaman's eyes (or at least Chris guessed that she had eyes underneath that fox mask) settled on his glowing digivice before pressing her energy rings against the heart shaped barrier that trapped her.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cyberdramon bring his claws together, preparing to attack.

_We've got to time this just right,_ thought Chris.

The bubble burst.

"NOW!"

The shout left Chris's throat in one mad stream, and as if on cue Cyberdramon, Metal Dracaramon, Guardromon, and MarineAngemon let loose their attacks all at once.

**"Arsenal Barrage!"**

**"Guardian Barrage!"**

**"Kahuna Waves!"**

**"Desolation Claw!"**

As one, the attacks rocketed towards their adversary and detonated with explosive force. Chris raised one arm to shield his face from any debris that the explosions might have kicked up, feeling as though something was draining out of him. In fact, he had to admit he felt rather tired all of a sudden.

_Way too much excitement,_ thought Chris with a touch of dry humor as the last of the explosions died down, leaving nothing more than plumes of smoke rising into the air. Chris narrowed his eyes, wondering if they had actually managed to get their opponent. He didn't leave out too much room for hope though. The Sakuyamon _was_ a Mega after all.

A light laugh emerging from the smoke was more than enough answer for Chris.

_Aw nuts…_ thought Chris as the smoke suddenly blew apart, revealing crimson armored Sakuyamon for all the world to see with not even a sign of dirt or scratches on her. She might as well have just arrived…

"Nice effort," spoke the crimson Sakuyamon for the first time since the battle had started. "Now, if you would be so kind as too…"

The shaman digimon was cut off by Cyberdramon suddenly landing in front of Chris, a deep guttural growl emerging from his throat as he flexed his claws and took a step towards her. The Sakuyamon didn't at all look impressed with the Ultimate though, and instead pursed her lips in what could be taken for annoyance. As if sensing something, the Mega looked over in the direction where Cyberdramon had come from, noticing the other figure that was just now approaching.

"I see that we're about to have even more company," said the Sakuyamon before lowering her voice, her tone taking on a note of irritation. "I didn't want this, but my mission is far too important to fail because of _you._ **Spirit Strike!"**

With that battle cry, the red armored Sakuyamon slashed out with her staff, summoning four fox spirits of fire, water, wind, and lightning into the world. All four digimon that were on the roof tensed, expecting the fox spirits to strike out immediately, as was typical of most digimon attacks (especially since three of them were already well versed in the appearance of a Sakuyamon's attacks), but strangely the spirits were behaving differently. Instead of simply seeking out a target and attacking it they landed in front of the Sakuyamon and began to grow larger, becoming more animal like as they grew until finally they stood from paw to shoulders larger than the Sakuyamon that birthed them, growling at the four digimon. They were quadruped like a normal fox, and built along the same lines as well. Flames licked at their bodies in the place of fur as a golden glow emerged from where their eyes would be, and they held an air of menace about them that made Cyberdramon tense up and deepen his growl.

Chris felt a cold drop of sweat crawl its way down his back.

"Now then," spoke the red armored Sakuyamon softly to the four fox spirits. "If you don't mind…"

Needing no more invitation the four fox spirits lunged forward to meet their enemy, as did Cyberdramon and Metal Dracaramon, claws and laser cannons glowing.

Chris had time for one last thought that seemed rather appropriate for the situation that he was in.

_Why can't we get the easy ones?_

The clash of battle came a second later.

* * *

9 


	22. Lightning Struck

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 21/Lightning Struck

**"Laser Discharge!"**

**"Desolation Claw!"**

The sound of digimon pronouncing their attacks was the first thing that Ryo noticed upon waking up, followed immediately afterwards by the smell of smoke and the crash of something heavy hitting the ground. A sharp pain tore through the Legendary Tamer's side, indicating through the confusion that shrouded his mind that his partner was in trouble. Uncertainly Ryo tried to get to his feet. He still felt a little bit shaken up from…whatever it was that had just happened to him. And what was it that had happened to him again? The last thing that he remembered was a red colored Sakuyamon…

Suddenly Ryo was yanked to his feet and pulled roughly back, narrowly missing being crushed by the massive form of one Cyberdramon as he was pinned beneath the burning red form of what looked to his eye a fox shaped out of energy.

_That can't be good,_ thought Ryo sarcastically as his mind raced for a way to help his partner out of his jam. He may have been out of the loop on what precisely it was that was that had transpired while he was out but he recognized a fight when he saw one. A plan formed in Ryo's mind and soon enough one hand was reaching into his deck box, searching for the appropriate card that would help his partner while the other was already bringing out his D-Arc. He took note of the fact that the fox creature seemed to be made out of flames, and sure enough he knew just what he needed to get out of this situation. Like magic he brought out the card that he needed and slashed it through his digivice.

"DIGI-MODIFY! SHELLMON'S HYDRO-PUMP ACTIVATE!"

Cyberdramon let out a roar as he felt data being fed into him via Ryo's digivice. Pulling back one clawed hand, the cybernetic dragon let loose a torrent of water onto his adversary's face, pushing forward relentlessly as the pressure of the water forced the fox creature off of him. Getting back to his feet, Cyberdramon snarled and pressed on with his attack, steam pouring off his enemy as the water struck it repeatedly. With a growl, the fox leapt backwards and tried to counterattack, only to be met with a renewed assault a second later as Ryo slashed a card combination involving a Targeting and Speed card. The flaming wolf howled in pain as it crashed to the ground, and with a well timed slash of a Power modify card from Ryo, Cyberdramon easily finished it off.

"Nice reflexes," said Chris breathlessly, amazed at the speed that the Legendary Tamer had defeated the fox creature upon waking up.

"You too," remarked Ryo, not forgetting Chris's last minute save. "Now would you mind telling me just what's going on here? Preferably in ten words or less."

"Uh…somehow I think that it'll take too long to explain with everything else that's going on right now," said Chris, pointing out that Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and Metal Dracaramon were engaged in battle with three more fox spirits, their performance nowhere near as flawless as Cyberdramon's was just a moment ago. Before Ryo could even begin to make a response, an all to familiar red-garbed figure surged forward and crashed into Cyberdramon, knocking the cybernetic dragon to the ground with an earth shaking punch, making Ryo grunt in surprise as he nearly lost his balance as well.

_Point taken,_ thought Ryo as he drew another card, hoping to find something that would give him a chance to biomerge with his partner. _Better go with the flow for now…_

With the slash of a Recharge modify card, Cyberdramon surged back to his feet and launched a _Desolation Claw_ at the crimson colored Sakuyamon, only to have it effortlessly blocked by what had to be this Sakuyamon's version of the _Crystal Sphere_ as a flurry of Sakura blossoms formed a shell around her. Cyberdramon's attack crashed into the sphere, only to fizzle out with no sign that it had even affected the barrier. Without making a sound, the red Sakuyamon expanded the _Crystal Sphere's _boundaries, the Sakura blossoms now turning into deadly, crystal shards that tore at Cyberdramon's armor and forcing him to back off a bit or be rent to shreds.

Only that was what the red Sakuyamon wanted him to do.

**"Amethyst Mandala!"**

A surge of red energy flew from the Sakuyamon's staff and slammed into Cyberdramon as he retreated, adding its force to his own backward momentum. The blow threw him off the rooftop and sent him careening towards the streets below, the attack stunning him enough to make him forget how to use his wings.

Ryo fell down to one knee, grimacing as he felt his partner's pain slip through the link that they shared. In front of them the red armored Sakuyamon calmly made her way towards them, as if she had all the time in the world to do whatever it was that she came here to accomplish, her gaze seemingly _fixated_ on the blonde haired boy that stood next to him (it was rather difficult to tell given that the fox mask completely covered the top half of the Sakuyamon's face and had no visible eyeholes). Instinctively Ryo regained his feet and stepped forward and placing himself in front of Chris, eliciting a look of surprise from the boy.

"Ryo…?" The boy began, only to have the Legendary Tamer cut him off as he addressed the red Sakuyamon in front of him. He _had _to buy time for Cyberdramon to recover.

"Hey! You mind telling me what this is all about? I mean I kinda doubt that you'll tell me, but it would be nice to know what it is that you want with me? Seeing as how you grabbed me in the first place…?"

The red Sakuyamon continued to close in on the two Tamers, her face still focused on Chris.

"I don't want _you,_" the red Sakuyamon said firmly, surprising Ryo. He didn't actually think that she _would_ answer. And not only that, did he detect a note of…_sadness_ in the way that she had said that? It was almost as if she didn't _want_ to be fighting them. Regardless, she was fighting them anyway, and she was giving every impression that no amount of reasoning was going to convince her otherwise.

_Too bad,_ thought Ryo as he caught sight of something approaching _fast_ out of the corner of his eye. He didn't look though lest the motion catch the Sakuyamon's attention.

"Ryo?" Asked Chris as he clenched his digivice, the knuckles on his hand white from the grip he had on it. Ryo didn't even have to look to know that the kid was worried. "If you've got a plan, _**now**_ would be a _real_ good time for it to kick in…"

**"Spirit Strike!"**

Chris blinked suddenly as he saw four ethereal foxes fly towards the red Sakuyamon. The crimson colored Mega also took note of this intrusion and promptly leapt up into the air to avoid the attack…

…Only to get kicked down a second later by what had to be the shaman's twin sister. The four foxes dove at their target as she crashed down onto the rooftop, twisting their forms around her as she struggled to escape them. Next to Chris, Ryo Akiyama laughed as the new digimon, one that was practically identical to the crimson variation that was now tangled up by the four foxes with the notable exception of color difference, landed in front of the two boys. Chris took a moment to analyze this version of Sakuyamon. Gold armor and purple gloves and high-heeled boots adorned her body where on the other one red was. Turning to face them, the new Sakuyamon grinned at them.

"Well, well," she said in a smug, almost superior tone, with a voice that sounded like there were two people speaking at once. "Looks like the shoes on the other foot for once Ryo. Didn't think that you'd need saving for once."

Ryo cracked a good-humored smile.

"Only because I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to do so Wildcat. So tell me, what do you want for me allowing you to rescue me this one time?"

It suddenly clicked in Chris's mind as to the nature and identity of their rescuer and nearly smacked himself for not realizing it sooner. After all, the Tamers had told them about their own misadventures from the Devas on up to the D-Reaper…

"Wha…?!" Sputtered Rika's voice from within the form of Sakuyamon, sounding clearly annoyed with Ryo. "_**Let**__ me_ rescue you? I should've known that you'd be…"

"Rika?" Interrupted the familiar voice of Renamon from within the same figure. Chris had to admit that this was going to take some getting used to. Even though the Tamers had told him and Ryan that they could merge with their partners, it was quite another matter seeing the affect up close. The fact that they were talking to each other while being in the same body was rather disturbing.

"We have a situation on our hands here," Renamon continued, and with that said the gold armored Sakuyamon raised her arms and summoned her own Crystal Sphere, blocking her counterparts _Amethyst Mandala_ attack as she blew apart the four fox spirits that had been attacking her. Without missing a beat the golden Sakuyamon collected the Sakura blossoms with a gust of mystical wind and transformed them into razor sharp amethysts before flinging them at the crimson Sakuyamon, who responded in kind with a _Talisman Sphere_ of her own. Growling in frustration Rika leapt into the air as Renamon threw another _Spirit Strike_ at their opponent. Once more the four fox spirits flew towards the crimson Sakuyamon, who just stood there calmly, waiting for them to come at her. And then, with nothing more than a gentle breath, the four spirits to both Rika and Renamon's surprise broke away from their intended target and flailed about helplessly, as if confused about what they should be doing before finally settling on attacking each other.

Rika and Renamon didn't get a chance to absorb this sudden and unexpected shift in the battle, because no sooner than the fox spirits went awry in their paths the red Sakuyamon took flight, changing tactics from a battle of mystical prowess to that of pure melee, relentlessly hammering away with her staff as she swung and twirled it in the air. Rika tried to block, but even with Renamon assisting her with her vast combat experience they were hopelessly outmatched. Within the time space of a few seconds, Rika's staff was sent flying into the air to clatter helplessly on the rooftop, and a split second later her red colored opponent landed a deft punch to her solar plexus, effectively knocking the wind out of her lungs. As Rika and Renamon gasped for breath, the red Sakuyamon leaned forward and spoke in a voice low enough for only her to hear.

_"Stay out of this, little sister. I don't want to have to destroy you…"_

Swiftly pulling back, the crimson Sakuyamon brought her right leg up and kicked her counterpart in the face, sending her careening towards the rooftop where she landed with a crash. The red Sakuyamon watched her fall, her lips pressed into a thin line as though she had just done something that she had found _distasteful_ before suddenly bringing her staff up to deflect an incoming _Desolation Claw_ attack from a recovered Cyberdramon. Grimacing the cerise colored shaman summoned forth the burning fox of fire that the Ultimate had defeated earlier and bid it to attack before descending back down to the roof. Once more she fixed her unseen gaze on the blonde haired boy that stood next to the Legendary Tamer…

**"Fist of the Beast King!"**

Slashing her staff on pure reflex, the vermilion Sakuyamon sent a wave of pink energy that engulfed an incoming attack that was composed of orange fire in the shape of a great lion. Gasping in surprise, Chris turned his gaze away from the main opponent and saw his comrade in arms, the famed Leomon surging towards the scene of battle. To make matters worse for the red hued Mega, her golden counterpart was already recovering and letting fly with a flurry of amethysts aimed at her direction. Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and Metal Dracaramon had just now finished off the fox spirits that they had been combating, and from the looks of things Cyberdramon would be swift with his as well as he used a Seadramon's _Ice Blast_ attack courtesy of a card slash from a certain Legendary Tamer.

* * *

_Things were not going well. Although she didn't doubt that she could defeat these obstacles that prevented her from obtaining the Mjolner's that were in this world, the addition of the Sakuyamon was cause for concern. She didn't want to fight her. She didn't like fighting her own kind in general, digital or otherwise, but if it could not be helped…well, she'd cross that bridge once she got there. Though the Sakuyamon had so far proven herself to be powerful, she was still a long ways from being able to defeat __**the White Fox **__(she smiled slightly at this title, as it no longer had any bearing with her current form, but it was still hers nonetheless from time unmemorable) in battle or magic. This was after all the reason why Loki had chosen her for this particular assignment, but even though she was powerful she couldn't afford to dally for long. There was something else approaching as well to join the fray; something that she couldn't easily identify as it was still a fair distance away, but if she could sense its power from this distance than it was something to be concerned about. She had to take care of all of these opponents as quickly as possible before it got here, otherwise all would be lost! And she couldn't afford that. Things were close to collapse already…_

_Crossing her arms, the red shaman reached into the center of her being, and called forth the power that was her birthright.

* * *

_

**"Vajra Storm!"**

A blast of violet energy erupted from the cerise colored Sakuyamon and exploded outwards, engulfing the digimon that were charging towards her, knocking both them and the two humans on the roof backwards. The red hued shaman glowed brightly for a moment, maintaining the attack and burning like a bonfire until finally letting go of the power that coursed through her, breathing heavily for a moment as she got a hold of herself and surveyed her surroundings.

_This form is so limiting,_ thought the shaman bitterly. _I gave up so much just so I could survive…and in the end I'm reduced to fighting __**children**__ at another's beck and call out of debt and to help others survive. _

The shaman's gaze traced over each of the battered digimon that were strewn about the ground like so much rag dolls, two of them, the Cyberdramon and Metal Dracaramon had been blasted back to their Rookie forms from the strength of the blast that they had endured. The golden armored Sakuyamon was the only one presently making any effort to try and get back to her feet, but judging from the effort that she was putting into just raising herself onto her arms that wasn't something that was going to happen any time soon. With a low sigh, the red shaman strode forth gracefully, walking over to the blonde haired boy who now lay unconscious on the ground, a T-shaped digivice resting next to his head from where it had fallen out of his hand.

_If only they weren't connected…_the crimson Sakuyamon began before her senses suddenly gave an alarm. Whirling about, the Mega level shaman's gaze settled on the form of a heavily armored knight with a large shield and lance in his hands. The knight's armor had white and red plates covering his body. A strange, dragon like face made up the visor of the knight's helmet, and for a moment the Sakuyamon thought about the almost comedic affect that it had on his otherwise _somewhat_ imposing figure. Upon landing, the knight glanced around, and an aura of anger seemed to suddenly surround him. Not a murderous type of anger, but anger nonetheless, one that she easily recognized.

"Is this where you tell me that you're going to deliver justice in their names now?" Asked the crimson Sakuyamon with a bite of sarcasm in her voice. The knight digimon glowered at her and pointed his lance straight at her.

"If you already know what I'm going to say then I don't need to say it," said the knight in a strange, double voice that was reminiscent of the golden Sakuyamon that had now gotten to her feet, though leaning heavily on her staff, trying to find some reservoir of strength so that she could aid her ally. The knight met the vermilion Sakuyamon's gaze and once more spoke, a coolness present in his voices that for some reason gave her pause.

"But either way, I promise; justice _will_ be done this day."

There was something going on here. Something about this digimon that caught the red Sakuyamon's attention…something…

_Wait. That power that I sensed earlier…_

Beneath her fox shaped mask, the Sakuyamon narrowed her eyes.

_It's coming from this __**knight!**__ But what is it? Something…familiar…_

Understanding suddenly dawned in the Sakuyamon's mind at the exact same second that the knight charged towards her, lance glowing with the power of a lightning storm.

_I don't believe it…a Dreamer…this…this changes __**everything!**_

Even though she was still reeling from the sudden realization the red Sakuyamon gracefully dodged the Royal Knight's attack, leaping over the lance and smashing her knee into his face before somersaulting over him. Landing in a crouch, the cerise Mega lashed out with her staff, sending waves of energy towards the knight…

Only to have it blocked unexpectedly by her counterpart throwing up a Talisman Sphere.

_This could become troublesome if she continues to lend him aid. I'll need to take this battle closer so that she can't have an easy opportunity to assist him like that. If nothing else I'll be able to get a closer look at this digimon's essence and see if my theory is correct. If it is…we won't even __**need**__ the Mjolner's. But just in case the Sakuyamon __**continues**__ to be a problem even then…_

Charging forward, the crimson Sakuyamon lashed out with a _Spirit Strike_, recreating them as the four fox's of fire, lightning, wind, and water and sending them to attack the Royal Knight digimon while she took a moment to _take care of some personal business_. Racing over to where her golden counterpart stood, the red shaman leapt forward and launched into a move that Henry Wong would have recognized as a _Butterfly Kick_ from his martial arts class, extending all of her limbs outwards and twisting in the air, her legs aiming towards her adversary's head. The golden Sakuyamon, apparently too injured from the battle to properly dodge the attack raised her staff to block it instead. The leg connected…and a second later the golden Sakuyamon crashed to the ground once more, the top half of her vajra staff clattering against the ground.

Once more pursing her lips as though she detested having to fight another that was so much like her, the red Sakuyamon turned to see how the Royal Knight was doing and was surprised to see her four foxes obliterated as a crimson glow burst from the form of the knight. A sensation of power washed over the air as a cry of anguish erupted from the armored form bathed in that light. For a moment, time slowed down as the cerise Sakuyamon saw the essence that lay within the knight's form as it began to change and alter into something _much_ more powerful. It was a boy…contained within a sphere of red and orange light.

Reacting purely on instinct, the Mega shaman surged forward into that all-enveloping light, one hand outstretched as she called every last remnant of power that she possessed to combat this new force before it could fully manifest.

* * *

Within the confines of his data sphere Takato felt the familiar power of his mode change begin to surge through him…remnants of Grani's data from that last battle with the D-Reaper, a sacrifice, as well as a gift from a friend that would never be forgotten. It had happened once before, back on the day of Rika's birthday when he and the others were being overwhelmed by the army of Parasimon that had come through the digital zone that the digimon Locomon had created. His determination to make sure that they wouldn't lose to the Parasimon no matter what they threw at him and his friends activated the otherwise dormant data of his friend Grani and transformed him into his Crimson Mode, a digimon that so far had yet to be outmatched by any enemy. Once more his emotions at seeing his friend Rika being struck down, of _all_ his friends lying on the roof battered and defeated, triggered the transformation, destroying the four fox spirits that his enemy (that looked so oddly like Sakuyamon with the exception of the difference in color) that had attacked him. And no matter what this enemy was going to do now, he and Guilmon were going to make sure that it… 

Before Takato could even begin to complete that thought he felt a hand suddenly tear its way through his armor and the surge of power was interrupted. Gasping in pain…there was so _much _of it… and hearing Guilmon's own cry as well, Takato felt something grab hold of him…

…And _tear_ him out.

* * *

There was a flash of light and a heavy thud as the limp form of a crimson reptile with a hazard symbol emblazoned on its chest fell to the ground, unconscious before he even landed. Shards of glowing red data floated in the air as the crimson Sakuyamon held onto the blue shirt of a brown haired child with strange, yellow rimmed objects attached to his forehead. The boy was groaning softly, the sudden shock to his system apparently being too much for him to handle. She couldn't blame him really. The injury that she had inflicted on the knight as he was transforming would have easily killed any mortal that she had encountered in her lifetime…and probably a few deities as well if enough power was put into an attack like that. The fact that this child had survived was a testament to him…and the power that lay within his person. Yes…this one _was_ a Dreamer. So rare in all the universes that existed…and had given birth to the power of the Mjolner's. 

_Of course, the Mjolner code is scattered,_ thought the Shaman. _Fragmented. This child will more than make up for that loss and save all of the Regin, be they Jutin or Aesir. He could very well be the final piece that we need for the Manifest…_

Suddenly there was a roar of unrestrained fury behind the crimson Sakuyamon, and before she could even turn to see what was causing it she felt something impact her from behind and a sharp pain tear through her back. Looking down she found herself almost amused to find the sharp end of a bronze vajra staff sticking out of her chest, data leaking out of the wound. The cerise Sakuyamon smiled, knowing just who it was that had just attacked her.

_So that's how it's going to be, eh?_ She thought, feeling her body weaken, and noticing her vision dimming. _I can't let it end like this…my mission is…too important to allow to fail. That other Sakuyamon…perhaps I can…_

Focusing herself in the center of her being, the red-garbed Sakuyamon gathered everything that was left of her power…her very _being_, and lashed out at her opponent.

* * *

Sakuyamon fell to the ground as the data of her dying opponent, suddenly took the shape of a white vixen and lunge at her, crashing into her with tremendous force before disintegrating. Within the confines of her blue data sphere Rika felt a wave of disorientation flow through her body as the vulpine apparition struck her. It wasn't at all like any kind of attack that she was expecting. If nothing else she expected something that would hurt instead of make her dizzy. Doing her best to shrug it off, Sakuyamon struggled to get back to her feet, feeling exhaustion from the battle finally take hold of her body. Unsteadily the shaman digimon walked over to where Takato had fallen and then was overcome by the light of dedigivolution, revealing the two forms of Rika and Renamon. Rika stood where she was for a moment, trying to fight off the feeling of dizziness and exhaustion that played through every inch of her body before finally sinking to her knees. She heard Renamon saying something to her…possibly calling her name and asking if she was all right but she might as well have been a mile away. Her violet gaze fell on the goggle-wearing Tamer in front of her as she took in his battered form, and for some reason it felt as though she were seeing him for the first time. As if she were shown something that she hadn't noticed before, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out. 

Rika felt Renamon touch her shoulder, trying to get her attention and suddenly Takato's inert form was that much closer in her eyes. She was falling forward. The world swam in her eyes…

The last thing that she felt was the warmth of Takato's cheek as it pressed against hers…

* * *

9 


	23. Strange Visions

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 22/ Strange Visions

_'_ _Where am I?' Wondered Rika as she floated in the middle of what had to be the strangest place that she had ever seen, beyond anything that her experiences in the digital world had been. A kaleidoscope of colors assaulted her senses, and the strange shapes that floated around her, making her think of something belonging to a child, along with the feeling of weightlessness weren't helping things much either. Feeling disoriented Rika looked around her, gauging her surroundings in an attempt to make a guess as to where she was and hopefully find a portal. Heck, even a landmark would do but something about this place defied all common sense, not a piece of its landscape remained the same and it shifted constantly. A black squiggle shape suddenly morphed into a yellow block before Rika's eyes, and no sooner then it had done that it changed once again; this time becoming something akin to a lamp before transforming into a desk and then vanishing altogether._

_Rika grimaced, not liking the situation that she found herself in not one bit, and the fact that she was floating in the middle of it all with no sense of direction at all to guide her left her feeling just slightly queasy. Nothing serious fortunately, as she had always been one to have a strong stomach and hadn't vomited once since she was sick as a little girl. Still, the way that this place was, how it changed and altered into such alien shapes and forms, even when they were familiar and with such rapidity, it had a way of unnerving her._

_'That kind of thinking isn't going to help me get out of here,' thought Rika as she turned around, blowing strands of red hair out of her face as she did so. Her hair tie was missing. 'But…how __**did**__ I end up here? The last thing that I remember was fighting that red colored copycat of Renamon and me and…Renamon!'_

_Looking around her, eyes wide with worry Rika realized that her vulpine partner was nowhere nearby. It left her feeling better knowing that she hadn't wound up in this strange place, but the knowledge that if __**she**__ herself had ended up here without knowing how, then Renamon's location could be somewhere even more problematic. Unless that is she was still in Shinjuku in which case she'd be trying to find her wayward partner, but if she wasn't…_

_'Renamon will be fine,' thought Rika, spreading her arms in front of her and moving them as a swimmer would. Oddly enough, this motion provided the same momentum and direction as if she were actually swimming in water. 'She's always proven that she can handle herself…and so can I!' Rika smirked at that thought, though a feeling of worry still made itself known in the depths of her soul, more over Renamon's safety than that of her own. 'I just hope that wherever she is, she's in a far better position than I am. I hope that I find her soon…'_

_As Rika continued to swim through the strange place filled with its constantly changing shapes and colors, Rika noted that there was something about it that looked oddly familiar to her even though she had never been here before._

_'Could almost swear that I've __**seen**__ this place before…but where? I never saw anything like this in the digital world and D-Reaper was all a bunch of cables and masses of red blobs.'_

_As Rika racked her brains for anything that might give her a clue as to why she felt as though this place were familiar, a laugh suddenly rang out on the air, causing the red headed Tamer to draw up and halt her progress, checking her surroundings for the source of the sound._

_'Now I know __**that**__ sounded familiar,' thought Rika as she listened carefully to the echoes, gauging their distance and direction. A second later she chose a direction and began swimming once again. _

_After a few minutes Rika began to hear more noises replacing the laughter; new voices, and shouts of defiance, each sounding strangely familiar, and growing increasingly so as she drew nearer. Finally figures appeared in her sight and Rika narrowed her eyes, trying to get a clearer view of them. There appeared to be about a dozen or so of them, some of them were quite large while others were little more than the size of children though even their size appeared to vary. It was hard to tell for sure from this distance. However, the much larger forms she didn't need to be close to know that they were not human. In fact, she had an idea…no; she __**knew**__ what they were. Especially the really large one. She wasn't close enough to see any details, but she recognized the general outline easily enough. Large body frame, two spheres on its shoulders, great demonic wings that looked like a shell, a whip like tail flowing behind it, and a gray colored, plated body armor along with a purple, beak like apparatus attached to its vaguely humanoid face. _

_Yes. She knew precisely what the larger figures were. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. _

_'Digimon…'_

_The large, demonic entity was fighting what looked like a humanoid, blue colored dragon. Even now, the dragon crossed its arms as power focused in the center of its chest, and an azure aura surrounded its body as well._

_**"Vee Laser!"**_

_The beam shot out of the dragon's chest and smashed into its opponent with tremendous strength, driving it backwards as it struggled against the strength of the blast._

_'I don't believe it,' thought Rika, knowing what she was seeing but not at all understanding why she was seeing it at all, or if it was even real to begin with. It shouldn't be! But time had proven to her that digimon were real despite being a game in her world. Even so, that didn't explain what she was seeing. As Rika continued to watch the battle she was slowly becoming overcome with the feeling that there was something else going on here. Something else was watching this battle play out with her. No…there was more than just a __**something.**__ More like __**something's**__. A whole lot of them. Shapes and shadows played at the edges of her vision, but whenever she tried to focus on them they were gone. She knew they were there though. And that it wasn't her imagination playing with her. She __**felt**__ them. They exuded a presence all around her that was impossible to deny. Power beat upon the air like a living entity, gnashing its teeth and whispering, curious about what was going on._

_"What is this?" A voice spoke from out of nowhere, unknowingly echoing Rika's own thoughts exactly. _

_"What are they?" Spoke up another._

_Rika's mind was awhirl with confusion. She had no idea what was going on, and everything that she was seeing…experiencing! It was threatening to overload her senses. Whatever it was that was here with her…with her and the figures that were battling it out in front of her. It was beyond anything that she had ever known! It made her feel so small…unimportant. It was as though she were an insect that would get stepped on if she weren't too careful in this place…_

_There was an explosion in front of her, and Rika's eyes were drawn back to the battle. Only…there was something in front of her, impeding her vision. It looked like…Rika frowned._

_'A white fox?'_

_The cream colored vulpine smiled at her, vulpine eyes sparkling in this strange place where dreams came to life and thoughts had power._

_'Hold on,' thought Rika, trying to grasp that last thought, but was interrupted when the fox spoke to her._

"This is where it all began," _the fox said calmly._ "This is where our revelation began…and with it our salvation."

_And that was when the world suddenly dissolved into a glaring, blinding white light.

* * *

_

"Uh!" Rika felt as though she had just been jolted, her eyes springing open as she sat up, startling the group of people that was gathered around her. Blinking her eyes in confusion Rika took a look around her, trying to find her bearings. Yamaki, Henry, Terriermon, Renamon, and Jeri were with her and she was…Rika frowned as she took in the layout of the bed that she found herself in. The sheets were of a light color, two cage like guards were set up on her side to prevent her from falling out of bed, and a remote control like device was connected to the side. A thought occurred to the red haired girl.

_Am I in a hospital?_

Glancing down Rika found that her day clothes had been replaced by what looked like a plain blue colored t-shirt, however a slight shifting of her legs beneath the blanket told her that it was a hospital gown.

_Oh terrific,_ thought Rika in slight annoyance but discarded the thought as quickly as it had come. This was not the time for such things…

Renamon placed a paw on Rika's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze while across from her Jeri beamed with relief.

"Welcome back!"

"You had us worried there," said Henry with a small smile while on his shoulder Terriermon giggled as he placed a paw on his mouth.

"Not me," the dog bunny spoke up. "She's too stubborn. In fact," Terriermon leaned back a little and placed his paws on the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure that she could put a coma into a coma. Well…that is if a coma were a person."

True to form, engrained into him by months of having to live in Terriermon's company and putting up with his jokes, Henry opened his mouth to scold his partner, only to stop as he processed what Terriermon had said in an attempt to decide whether or not his partner was making a joke at Rika's expense or complimenting her tenacity.

_Probably both,_ thought Henry as he felt his brain lock itself into a contradiction.

"Rika, are you all right?" Prompted Renamon from by her Tamer's side. Rika gave a small smile; glad to see that aside from some ruffled fur Renamon was otherwise all right.

"Yeah, I guess so. Aside from a few weird dreams and a major headache I'm fine. Someone care to fill me in on what happened?"

Henry was about to reply when Yamaki took this moment to enter the conversation.

"The Tamer Ryan entered Hypnos and had informed us that there had been a bio-emergence. He accompanied Henry to the scene of the battle and joined with Ms. Katou, Kazu, and Kenta where they found you, Takato, Ryo…"

"Hold on," interrupted Rika as memories began to come back to her. One memory in particular involved a crimson-garbed Sakuyamon tearing Takato out of the armored form of Gallantmon as he was mode changing. "How's Takato? He…"

_Dreamer…_

Rika halted in her sentence as that word entered her mind, making her blink reflexively and wonder just where it was that word had come from. Yamaki, unaware of this, merely took her lapse in attention as an excuse to take the conversation from there.

"He's in a room next door. Kazu and Kenta are in there with him right now. He's presently unconscious and unable to communicate at the moment but the doctors assure me that he'll be fine. They're keeping him overnight however to make sure that he stays that way. He wasn't in that good of a condition when the others found you…"

Rika nodded in understanding.

"I don't doubt that. He…"

Yamaki raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Rika?"

Rika frowned as she thought back to the battle, trying to get a more accurate idea as to what it was that had happened there. For some reason she found it harder to concentrate on that particular memory the closer she got to the defeat of the digimon.

"There was something _weird_ about that digimon. It did something to Takato in that fight when he was about to mode change. It…_separated_ him from Guilmon."

Now Yamaki's other eyebrow joined its partner in arching in surprise while Henry and Terriermon mimicked the blonde haired head of Hypnos. Rika heard Jeri's gasp. Rika winced.

_Sorry Jeri._

"I see," said Yamaki. "Well, he's presently out of danger and the doctors report that was filed indicated that he was going to be fine. I'm having the digimon that were defeated in that battle analyzed to make sure that they're also fine. I'll have my people take the time to look Takato's partner over a little more just to make sure that there's no irreparable damage to his code…"

"That's the _least_ you could do," muttered Terriermon from his spot on Henry's shoulder. Henry, in turn gave his partner a glare that silenced the little dog bunny. Rika turned to Jeri, who had a worried expression on her face and was rubbing her right arm unconsciously. No doubt she was worried about the Gogglehead. Come to think of it, she was too. It wasn't everyday that you saw one of your closest friends get forcibly ripped out of his partner's Mega form like that. Just hearing it probably wasn't any better either, but Yamaki did have to know what had happened.

_At least Takato's going to be okay,_ thought Rika with a sense of relief in her mind. Reaching over Rika clasped a hand onto Jeri's shoulder and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry about him. Takato's tough. He'll be fine just like Yamaki said. Don't let it worry you too much, okay?"

Jeri smiled back at her friend, taking some measure of confidence from both Rika's words and gesture.

"Thanks Rika…"

"Don't mention it. Now why aren't you keeping an eye on him?" Rika's smile drew into a playful smirk as she tried to lift Jeri's spirits and get her to stop thinking any more negative thoughts as to the condition of her friend. "You never know what stupid thing he might do even when he's asleep. Especially if the dimwit duo is going to be there…"

Jeri's eyes widened slightly and a small blush crept onto the girl's cheeks.

"I…I just wanted to see if you were all right and…and Kazu and Kenta and Ryo were…"

Jeri stopped talking as understanding dawned in her eyes.

"Ah, go on!" Said Terriermon in between bursts of laughter. "You don't have to keep us company and I'm sure Yamaki wants to continue grilling Rika about that battle that she was in."

"W-well…" Jeri paused and glanced over at Rika, caught between the desire to stay and hear whatever else Rika had to say on the matter with checking up on Takato, although she was sure that he was still unconscious and would likely remain so for a good while. After a few minutes of indecision she finally settled on getting up. "Okay. I probably should check on Takato, if only to keep Kazu and Kenta out of trouble. I'm going to want to hear about the rest of this later though…"

"Count on it," said Yamaki as they watched the brunette exit the room. Yamaki turned back to Rika.

"Now. Since neither Takato, Ryo, or Chris have awakened…"

Rika raised an eyebrow before shrugging it off. They too had been caught in that red Sakuyamon's blast and unlike her hadn't been biomerged. Still, it was rather interesting that Yamaki didn't tell her that their condition was any different from Takato's. In fact, he didn't seem to be as concerned for them so there was a good chance that they weren't hurt all that badly.

_Sure didn't feel like that would have been the case,_ thought Rika as she felt the ghosts of her own pains suffered from the battle. _But then I was closer to ground zero…_

Yamaki continued.

"…I'd like to hear what you have to say concerning the Wild One. Now according to Ryan your digivice didn't go off when it had emerged into the real world, and Hypnos sensors hadn't picked up anything specific…

_Looks like this is going to be a long day,_ thought Rika as she cast her mind back through her memories for anything specific that stood out in her mind about that cerise colored Sakuyamon.

* * *

That evening Rika lay in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, sensing the presence of her partner who was currently concealed within the room's shadows. Like the other Tamers who had been involved in the battle with that strange Sakuyamon from earlier that day she had been made to stay the night as a _precaution_. Not something that she was too happy about but she did understand it. That fight had taken quite a bit out of her, causing her to stumble a little when she had gotten up to go to the bathroom. Nothing serious (though it was something that she should have expected) so it was probably just as well that she took things easy for tonight. Her mother and grandmother had taken the news well…as well as any worried family members could take something like that she supposed. Her mother had certainly worried enough for both of them when she saw her later during regular visiting hours. Rika felt bad that she made her mother worry so much about her, but it was something that she had accepted as a part of her life. Her mother tried to be understanding of course, but that didn't change the fact that as her mother she was bound to worry about anything that happened to her daughter. 

_Any sane person would be worried,_ mused Rika as she turned on her side and looked out the window and into the star filled night, the moon's light casting shadows in her hospital room. _I'd be worried if Mom wasn't. Grandma too._

Rika reflected on how much closer she and her mother had become since becoming a Tamer, how meeting Renamon had helped open back up to her after so long of simply _existing_ together in the same house but not really _knowing_ each other. Rika smiled slightly.

_I'm glad that Mom has Tom to comfort her at a time like this,_ thought Rika before her mind shifted to the boy who currently slept in the room adjacent to her own. The one who had remained unconscious since arriving here.

_I wonder how Takato's parents are taking this? I know that they showed up but I didn't exactly get a chance to meet with them today, what with me being in a separate room and everything._

Rika shifted beneath the blankets of her bed, this time facing away from the window, trying to find a position that was comfortable. For some reason she felt a growing sense of agitation as she thought of the clumsy _Knight in Shining_ _Armor _that was her friend. And not just agitation. Worry as well. Which was only natural, but this, at least in Rika's mind, felt different.

There was something akin to a sense of urgency to that feeling of worry as well.

_But he's fine,_ thought Rika, sounding as though she were trying to convince herself of that, only to fail miserably at it. Finally deciding to do something about that feeling Rika got up from the bed and quietly padded over to her room's door and opened it softly, stepping out into the hall. She stopped and listened carefully, extending her senses.

_That's weird. Would've thought that Renamon would have shown up by now. _

After a quick debate Rika decided against calling for her partner and simply walked over to the door to her immediate left, recalling that she had seen her friends go this route when they were checking in on Ryo, Chris, and Takato. Stopping in front of the room Rika reached out for the doorknob.

_Don't they normally lock the rooms up at night?_ Rika's mind whispered but she didn't really listen to it. Instead her hand grasped the doorknob and turned it, opening the door with a soft click.

_Guess someone was lazy today…_

Rika stepped into the room, continuing to walk softly as she did so, closing the door softly behind her before moving forward. Passing Ryo's bed with a concerned look Rika came to a halt next to Takato and looked at him. He was breathing with slowly, and shallowly, his eyes moving beneath his closed eyelids, gripped as he was in the state of rapid eye movement that was normally called sleep.

_Probably dreaming,_ thought Rika as a small smile crept onto her face. A faint memory whispered to her at the mention of that last word but she mostly ignored it. Almost unconsciously Rika raised her hand and brought it over to Takato's face, settling it gently on the top of his forehead where it sat for a moment, before moving over to caress his hair. A part of her wondered why she was doing that…why she was even here to begin with, but another part told her that it was somehow important that she see for herself how he was and to make sure that he was all right. There was something else too. Rika felt as though she were sensing something radiating from Takato. She couldn't quite tell for sure what it was but it felt…it felt…

As she mulled it over, Rika realized that the closest thing that she could use to describe what she was sensing was what she felt every time she merged with Renamon to become Sakuyamon, only to a far lesser extent. As though it were something that was dormant…_sleeping_ if you would, but still active.

Suddenly a shadow fell over Takato's still form, causing Rika to look up in surprise, giving a small gasp as she saw the dark outline of a cloaked figure standing in front of the window, blocking the moon light that flooded into the room. Rika felt a chill go down her back as she caught the faintest hint of _white_ beneath the dark hood that hid the entities face…and what appeared to be the outline of a human skull to go along with it. She was just about to summon Renamon and demand the identity of the intruder when the cloaked figure began to become transparent, and after a few seconds disappeared all together. Rika stood there for a moment, wondering if what she had seen was simply an illusion or if it had actually happened.

_What was that?_

No answer came to her in the silence of the room, but Rika quickly noticed one thing. That sense of urgency, agitation, and worry had vanished, and had been replaced with an overwhelming sense of relief. The feeling that she was getting from her contact with Takato was still there…and it had never ebbed once.

_Good,_ Rika thought unknowingly to herself in a voice that wasn't entirely her own. _The Dreamer is still safe…_

Rika stroked Takato's hair one last time before carefully pulling away. Shaking her head in confusion Rika took one last look at Takato and then turned and left the room.

_What was that all about?_ Rika wondered one last time as she reentered her room and headed over to her bed, her mind awhirl with confusion. Oddly enough however, she didn't feel as though her actions needed an explanation. At least, not to herself.

She didn't notice that her shadow's image had a fox like tail protruding from the edge of her hospital gown…

* * *

8 


	24. Comparing Notes

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 23/ Comparing Notes

Ryan grimaced as the faint rays of sunlight touched upon his face, glaring through the darkness of his closed eyes and interrupting him from the depths of sleep that he had just been in. Next to him the soft snores of Richoemon and Terriermon could be heard in the quiet of the bedroom. Turning onto his side Ryan opened his eyes and blinked, slowly ridding himself of the tired feeling that held his eyelids in a vice like grip. After a few seconds of staying in that position Ryan lifted himself up and took a look around blearily, reflexively checking his most recent memories to make sure that he really was where he was and that it wasn't just a part of some dream or that he didn't just arrive in some strange place by accident and didn't know it. It had come to be an instinct for both him and Chris to do that ever since their jaunt into the digital world. Given the rather unexpectedness of that situation and the oddness of the world that they had found themselves in it seemed rather natural to do that. Ryan wondered if any of the Tamers did anything similar.

_I'll bet Henry does given the partner that he has,_ thought Ryan as he threw back the borrowed blanket and began to fold it up. _With a partner like that __**anyone**__ would want to check their sense of reality._

Ryan set the blanket aside and stretched a bit, working some of the stiffness out of his joints before leaning back, glancing around the room again, thinking back to some of the events from yesterday, and some of the things that had been brought up from the Tamers at the hospital following the fight with yet again another Wild One. Ryan frowned a little, disliking the fact that he hadn't been able to get there in time to help out, though from what he had been told later it was highly likely that he would have been pretty much ineffectual.

_A Mega digimon,_ thought Ryan remembering what Yamaki had told him and the others following Rika's return to the waking world. Further collaborations from Chris and Ryo upon their own recovery added to the sense of threat that had been growing ever since he and Chris had arrived in Shinjuku. Ryan thought back to the Apemon and Snimon (digimon that had borne an all too familiar dark shading that Ryan and Chris had seen once before on a Mammothmon prior to their _return_ to the real world) that had entered the picture scarcely two days after showing up, not to mention the BlackKnightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon…two digimon who had _definitely_ been pursuing him and Chris for no reason that either of them could see. The trouble hadn't ended there either. Three days later two digimon had bio-emerged. One of them, a variation of the standard Gargomon form had fought both himself and Rika in the park, using some rather _unique_ attacks that didn't fit its description (and had also evaded the Hypnos tracking system as Yamaki had expressed some surprise over this revelation). Shortly afterwards a Mega had arrived and attacked Ryo. No reason was given apparently, and afterwards the Mega's attention had shifted to Chris…

Ryan frowned at that as he lifted his green trimmed digivice from off the floor and looked at it, thinking back to what the Gargomon had told him.

_What did he call it again? A…Mee-yolner?_ Ryan thought, pronouncing the word in his mind as he had heard it. _Whatever it's called he sure was interested in taking it. Was practically willing to kill me to get at it. I wonder if that Mega from yesterday was after Chris's. I remember Henry's dad telling me some stuff during one of my visits that this thing may be alive. Wonder if that has anything to do with it._

Ryan sighed to himself as he clipped the device to his waist and got up.

_These things have become quite troublesome lately…_

_Wonder where Henry went,_ thought the boy, taking note of the fact that the boy hadn't been in the room when he had woken up. _Seems rather odd that he didn't take Terriermon with him. Those two never seem to Part Company except when it comes to the bathroom._

Ryan walked over to the rooms exit and opened the door. All things considered, staying over at the Wong's apartment had been a much more pleasant experience compared to the last time that he had been here. Of course, the fact that Suzie had been oddly well behaved had something to do with that. She hadn't tried to dress up Richoemon or anything except stare at the orange, tiger striped dinosaur and giggle childishly. As disturbing as Richoemon found that, Ryan had reminded him that the alternative could be far worse.

"Hey, look who's up," spoke up the familiar voice of Henry Wong, catching Ryan's attention as he closed the door behind him. Turning, Ryan found the half-Chinese Tamer walking towards him, still dressed in his sleeping clothes; his hair damp from what was undoubtedly from a morning bath.

"Hey Henry," said Ryan. "I was wondering where you were."

Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Any reason in particular?"

Ryan shook his head.

"Nope, I was just curious. Anything new today?"

"Not really. Yamaki hasn't called, and my dad hasn't left yet for work so I don't expect to hear anything new right away. I was thinking about going down to the hospital to check up on Takato and the others if we don't hear anything."

Ryan nodded. He was rather worried about the others himself. Ryo, Chris, and Rika were okay and the same went for their partners but Takato and Guilmon had still been conked out by the time visiting hours were over. Despite all assurances to the contrary he had to wonder just how bad things were for the goggle-wearing Tamer and his crimson colored dinosaur of a partner. Getting forcibly separated the way that they were…from what Rika had told them…did not sound good at all. Having merged with his own partner not too long ago, Ryan had the feeling that the experience was something that he'd rather not have happen to him.

"So I guess that means that the meeting that Yamaki wanted to hold today is still on?"

Henry shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Like I said, we haven't heard anything new today. I'm sure that Yamaki would want all of us to be present for the meeting. Takato especially. All we can do now is just wait and see."

Ryan nodded as Henry walked up to his bedroom door, opened it and stepped inside; as the door closed with a click Ryan padded on down to the kitchen to get something to eat. He felt a little odd doing so. He supposed that he was never going to get used to living off of someone else's generosity. Granted, he knew that he did so regarding his parents, but that had an unconditional factor to it that had to do with them being his family, something of which he had nothing in common with any of the Tamers. Not by a long shot. These people were strangers. Even though he had now gotten to know them for about a week they were still strangers. Of course, all things considered this was perhaps the least of the things that he should have been worrying about, but he found a kind of comfort in worrying about the small things as opposed to the much larger, life altering ones. The fact that the two were intertwined however took that comfort away from him.

The sounds of dishes clattering in the kitchen, and the smell of food being cooked brought his mind away from the matter however, and upon entering the room he found the faces of Henry's father, mother, two sisters, older brother, and Lopmon calmly having their breakfast and chatting away as if there was nothing going on. As if their visitor and his friend hadn't inadvertently brought something dangerous into their lives.

_Well, they're probably used to it,_ thought Ryan as he scratched his ruffled hair, taking a moment to look the family over, reflecting on how accepting they were about the whole situation, and wondering if this would be what his life became like if and when he got home.

Suddenly Suzie spied the brown haired boy standing at the entrance into the family kitchen.

"Hi!" The little girl said loudly as she swung her feet beneath the table excitedly. "Good mowning sleepy head!"

" Morning Ryan," said Janyu cheerfully. "Hope Terriermon didn't keep you up last night. You look frazzled."

Ryan grinned half-heartedly at that and shrugged, not really having a reply to that.

_Too early in the morning for that sort of thing._

"Well come on in," said Janyu's wife, Mayumi looking up from the stove where she was cooking. "You'll be wanting to get something to eat before Henry and Terriermon get out here."

"Yeah," said Jaarin, Henry's sister. "Especially Terriermon. With the way he eats I'm surprised that we haven't been put out on the streets yet."

"I heard that!" Cried a certain dog bunny indignantly as he entered the kitchen with Richoemon, rubbing at his eyes sleepily with his tiny paws, apparently having just been kicked out of Henry's room so that the boy could change in privacy. "And I'll have you know that Guilmon eats more than me. I don't know how Takato's parents can afford it frankly…"

"Well, you have a point there," said Jaarin, nodding in agreement.

"Anyway," said Terriermon. "They're right about one thing. You'll want to get _something_ before me and Henry get in there. After what Yamaki told us yesterday about that meeting that he wants to have today I've got the feeling that we're going to need all the energy that we can get."

"What are you guys going to be talking about anyway?" Asked Jaarin as she dug into her breakfast. "You were all pretty tight lipped about it last night…"

Terriermon shrugged, smirking a little as he did that. Janyu took the moment to enter the conversation.

"Sorry Jaarin. You know that it's not something that we can easily talk about…"

The girl huffed a little at that.

"As if people can't already guess what's going on around here," the girl muttered to herself.

"…But," continued Janyu, ignoring that last comment. "I _can_ tell you that it involves the recent bio-emerges and especially our visitors since they seem to be at the center of it all. Anything more than that we can't say."

Jaarin seemed to be a little bit more satisfied with that, but not by much. As far as breakfast and dinner table conversations went digimon tended to keep things interesting even though her mother didn't like to discuss the dangerous side of that topic often.

"Cheer up Jaarin," piped in Terriermon from his place next to Ryan and Richoemon. "It's just a meeting about what's been going on around here. Nothing too big. If you'd like I can try to find out about Ryan here's experience in the digital world involving a Suukamon and Chumon…"

As Ryan felt his face begin to heat up and turn red, he found himself repeating one thought over and over in his head like a mantra, so as to not upset the Wong family who had been kind enough to put up with him since he got here.

_Must not kill Terriermon. Must not kill Terriermon. Must not kill Terriermon…_

"OW!" Shouted Terriermon suddenly. "Richoemon! You stepped on my ear! Watch it!"

"Sorry," said Richoemon _innocently_. Ryan looked over at his partner with suspicion, faintly aware that the rest of the Wong family was doing likewise, though with some amusement to go along with it as well.

_Somehow I'm sure that it'd be better if I didn't even bother to ask…

* * *

_

Two hours later Ryan, Henry, Terriermon, and Richoemon found themselves waiting patiently inside the room of the Tamers Takato Matsuki, and Ryo Akiyama with Jeri, Kazu, Kenta, MarineAngemon, Chris, Rika, Renamon, and Yamaki. Takato had finally woken up, groggy and somewhat sore by his account, but he was awake. He certainly looked the worse for wear and upon seeing him each and everyone (Yamaki included) had asked if he felt up to the meeting that they had scheduled for today.

"Hey c'mon," said Takato as he forced out a tired laugh. "Don't worry about me. If we're having a meeting, we're having a meeting. You guys shouldn't hold it off on my account…"

"That's true," said Yamaki looking closely at Takato, gauging his condition. The rings beneath the boy's eyes, signs of fatigue, were not exactly confidence builders to the Head of Hypnos. "But you do look like you could still do with some rest. As much as I'd hate to leave you out of the loop perhaps it would be better if one of the others came by later to fill you in. After all, out of all of you who were in that battle you were the one that took the most serious hit."

"Gee, thanks for that," said Takato with a touch of exasperation, causing the others to raise an eyebrow at him. A second later Takato heaved a sigh. "Sorry guys. I guess I am still out of it. I'll be fine though…"

"We might as well have the meeting here anyway," spoke up Terriermon. "Seeing as we're already here."

"Terriermon," began Henry in a warning tone. For some reason Yamaki felt as though he were watching a universal law in action. The one that went _for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction._

"Terriermon's got a point," said Ryo from his bed. "You're all here anyway, and Chris and I would still need to be discharged from the hospital if you intend to take this back to Hypnos. Not like that would be a difficult thing to do but…"

"I get it," said Yamaki calmly. He had already decided on doing just that anyway. As much as he hated to admit it, Terriermon _did_ have a point, that and the fact that he had a fair amount of respect for Takato. While he was concerned for his well being this was hardly the type of situation where it would be necessary for Takato to sit on the sidelines until he was more fully recovered from his experiences. Besides Takato would have to hear about it sooner or later. If he dropped off to sleep during the meeting he'd hear about the rest of the details later.

"All right. To start things off I think that a little recap is in order. Now I've collected each of your reports on the most recent battles, with the exception of Takato but that can wait as I'm certain that there's little that would contradict Rika's own documentation of the events surrounding them. Since Ryan and Chris have arrived there have been a number of bio-emergences within the area of Shinjuku, and they seem to be focused primarily _on_ our two newest arrivals…"

"I don't buy it," said Kazu from a chair next to the Legendary Tamer's bed, arms folded back behind his head. "If that was the case then how come that Sakuyamon wanna-be went after Ryo in the first place?"

"Kazu," said Ryo. "You were there when I told Yamaki what happened. She _specifically_ stated that she wasn't after me when I asked her…"

"Like a bad guy would be truthful about their intentions."

"…And was zeroing in on Chris," Ryo continued, ignoring the boy's comment.

"Yes," said Yamaki. "And then there's the report that Ryan filed on his and Rika's encounter from yesterday. The digimon was targeting Ryan; more precisely he demanded that he turn over his digivice. Identifying it as a…" Yamaki looked down at the file that he held in his hand. "…Mjolner."

At that, Chris looked up.

"That's weird," said Chris, more to himself than anyone in particular. Yamaki turned to the boy and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?"

Chris flushed a little, realizing that he had spoken out loud. He didn't like being the center of attention all that much.

_"You dug the grave. Might as well lie in it,"_ Chris could hear his partner sarcastically saying in his mind. Even when the sometimes mouthy digimon wasn't around he still had a way of chipping in his two cents.

"Well…it's just that I mentioned something along the lines of that to Henry's dad shortly after we arrived. The…um…shape of Ryan and mine's digivices resembled a kind of symbol from Norse mythology that I saw in a book once. A _Mjolner_. It's supposed to represent Thor's hammer or something."

"I see," said Yamaki as he carefully digested this bit of information, not sure as to what relevance it had in the grand scheme of things but unwilling to just simply discard it out of hand. "Is there anything else that you can tell me about this _Mjolner_ symbol?"

"Um…just that the myth about it said that it was _really_ heavy and involved something with lightning, nothing that has any relation to how these things have worked so far," Chris took out his digivice and waved it in the air in front of him to emphasize his point. "Anything else I can't recall off the top of my head at the moment. Sorry."

"Hey," said Henry entering the conversation now. "Hey Takato. Remember that time when we were in the digital world and met up with Mizuno for the first time? How he said that digimon took on forms of ancient gods of people? And remember how the Devas that we fought were based off of the Chinese Zodiac?

Takato blinked.

"Yeah. Yeah I do remember."

"What are you getting at?" Asked Yamaki looking over at Henry with a curious gaze.

"The digital world is made up of a combination of people's dreams and wishes as well as data. We've all seen the proof of that. Maybe there's something like that with Ryan and Chris's digivices. Now I can't be sure," Henry placed one hand on his chin in contemplation. "But in that battle we had with Apemon, when Ryan threw away his digivice it looked like the Apemon was trying to grab it."

Ryan thought about that. He hadn't exactly been in the best of condition at the time to really take notice of what was going on around him, but seeing as how the Gargomon from yesterday had demanded his digivice, or at least he thought that it was his digivice that he was referring to, there may be something to it.

"Okay…but how does that make them important?" he asked looking at the Tamers. "So far they don't do a whole lot besides digivolve our digimon. Heck, from what I've seen your digivices do a whole lot more than that. You can actually _help_ your partners beyond just digivolving them and then sitting back and keeping out of trouble."

"…And it still doesn't explain why Ryo was the one who got jumped out of all of us," added Chris. Ryo chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"That probably had more to do with my just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see I arrived at the scene of the last battle _after_ it had taken place and Ryan and Rika had left for Hypnos." Ryo's frowned a little as he fanned through his memories of the experience. "Funny thing though. When that red Sakuyamon had me captive it… I don't know. There was something about that period of time that felt weird. I found myself remembering all sorts of things about my life and…this is going to sound a little crazy but it felt like she, the red Sakuyamon, was _watching_ my memories as they played out in my head."

"Maybe it was gathering information about you," said Rika with a touch of sarcasm as she leaned against the wall next to Takato's bed, arms crossed over her chest. A second later her voice became serious. "Or maybe information about _all_ of us."

"You might have something there, Rika," said Henry, his eyes narrowing in deep thought as he began to compare stories in his mind. "Ryo _was_ the one Tamer that was most readily available at that moment. Assuming that is that the digimon you guys encountered was capable of reading minds…"

"You mean like how everyone can predict your response to everything I say?" Asked a certain, long eared digimon who was dangling off of Henry's shoulder.

"Terriermon…"

"What? It was just a question! Sheesh!"

"Well first of all, your question involved predicting, _not_ telepathy. And everyone can already guess my response anyway because they've seen me do it enough times."

"Yeah, but you have to admit it you fell for it just now."

Henry rolled his eyes and groaned, biting back the reflex to scold his partner in his traditional way, causing some of the Tamers to chuckle at the two. Yamaki soon ended the scene by clearing his throat loudly.

"All right," said Yamaki once he was sure that he had everyone's attention. "Although I don't think that we'll have an accurate understanding of why that digimon attacked Ryo first, Rika's theory does leave room to suggest that there is a greater intelligence at work here, especially if we take into account the BlackKnightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon attack. Ryan and Chris," Yamaki turned to the two children. "You both said that those two digimon had been pursuing you prior to your arrival here. Renamon said that she heard the Nightmare Blitzmon state that it was imperative that they find something called _Keepers_. Given your own account is there any reason to believe that they weren't referring to you two?"

Ryan and Chris looked at each other, and Ryan shrugged. Chris took this as an indication to make the response.

"We were certainly under the impression that we _were_ the main targets. You don't get chased across the digital world as long as we were from a case of mistaken identity…at least I don't think that that would be the case. Wish we knew what they were referring to though. No one we met before them ever mentioned that word before. Centaurumon said that we weren't using our digivices to their full extent but we didn't get a chance to ask him in full detail what he was talking about."

The Tamers nodded, remembering the boy's story about how their friend had been killed in battle with an Okuwamon.

"What about _Ahuramon's Shadow?"_ Asked Jeri in a voice that, despite its low volume had a way of echoing in the room. Ryan felt as though he had just received a shock.

"Pardon?" Asked Yamaki.

Jeri began to look a little uncertain now.

"Well…Leomon mentioned it to me a while back…and to Ryan too. It was that day that we first encountered that weird Apemon. Leomon said something about how he had heard stories involving digimon that had no shape and could possess other digimon. He…ah…also told me afterwards that he wasn't sure how he remembered it…"

Jeri felt her right hand fidget with her dress nervously. She wasn't all too sure if it was a good idea to add that last part but Leomon had been taking his time getting around to telling Ryan about that particular little detail. Still, it might be a complication that they could do without. But then again, it might also be important.

Ryan for his part could feel Chris's gaze settle on him rather heavily.

"Hmmm…" Yamaki furrowed his brow in thought. "I'll have someone look over your partner's data a second time. It's possible that it's just a minor defect in his code that can easily be corrected. Leomon _had_ been presumed destroyed prior to his return to Shinjuku, correct?"

Renamon thought back to a conversation that she had with Impmon, where he had claimed that the Leomon that had arrived with Ryan and Chris was _not_ the same Leomon as the one that he had destroyed and loaded as Beelzemon. The vulpine digimon suddenly felt that a little inquiry with the diminutive virus was going to be necessary…

"Yes Mr. Yamaki," said Jeri nodding, not betraying any sign of emotion concerning her recollections of the day that she had _lost _her partner beyond simple acknowledgement of that fact. Yamaki nodded back and once more reiterated that he would have someone look into it.

"Now, about this _Ahuramon's Shadow,_" resumed the blonde haired head of Hypnos. Rika snorted at the name almost disdainfully.

"Sounds like something from a storybook," the girl quipped. At that, Chris's eyes widened and for a second it looked like he was about to say something, only to close his mouth and frown, looking for all the world like he was thinking Rika's comment over as though it had some relevance.

"Be that as it may," said Yamaki. "It's all we have as far as an identification goes. I'll be needing to talk to Leomon too by the way," Yamaki glanced at Jeri, who nodded her ascent. "The digimon that have been encountered so far that match that description seem to be something completely different from the ones that we know so far to be actively pursuing Ryan and Chris. The digimon that you encountered yesterday, and the BlackKnightmon and Nightmare Blitzmon all seem to be variations of a more common type with the differences being that of cosmetic, attack, or attribute change…"

"The Gargomon from yesterday used some attacks that didn't fit its profile," interrupted Ryan. "In fact, if I didn't know any better I'd swear that one of them was a combination of Kyubimon and Terradramon's attacks."

"So you have noted in your statement concerning the attack," said Yamaki hefting the file that he held.

"And let's not forget how that Sakuyamon handled her own _Spirit Strike_," mentioned Ryo. "No offence Rika, but that one had a lot of imagination to it. I never expected to see that attack executed that way."

Rika just _hmmphed_, but didn't say anything more in response to it. What Ryo said was after all, true.

"But back to the _Ahuramon's Shadow_," said Yamaki. "It has been noted, based on scans from Ryan and Chris's digivices that there is a virus type coding that had infected the digimon who you have encountered with the dark appearance, substantially altering them. They have shown themselves to be more resilient then they otherwise would have been…" The Tamers nodded, remembering how the Apemon easily withstood attacks from Rapidmon and WarGrowlmon, both of whom were at the Ultimate level. "…As well as being able to change their own shape and appearance in regards to an opponent that they are fighting." Chris nodded, remembering his own fight with the Snimon. "So far it looks like not all of them have shown themselves to be capable of that, though it may have more to do with experience. Furthermore, Janyu indicated some similarity between that viral coding and the digivices of yours."

Yamaki indicated Ryan and Chris with a nod of his head.

"And let's not forget that Ryan's digivice had been infected for a time by that same coding," said Renamon. Everyone nodded in response to that, Ryan, reluctantly.

"We know all of that though," said Kazu, sounding a little bit annoyed with the recap. "Why are we going over it again? Not that finding out that those weird dark digimon from before now have a name courtesy of Leomon but I'm sure we could have done without all the rest."

"I wanted to pool all the information that we have on the table, Shioda," said Yamaki in an emotionless voice that made it hard to tell what the Head of Hypnos thought of Kazu's outburst. "Due to the increasing frequency of the attacks, and the amount of focus on Ryan and Chris it stands to reason that all of us should be on the same page and come up with theories on what they want and how we can combat them. Furthermore, based on the information that we currently have, I'm of the opinion that we are dealing with more than one group that are actively operating towards a goal…a goal that involves our arrivals."

_Really wish that they would stop referring to us as if we weren't in the room with them,_ thought Ryan a little irritably.

Ryo looked up from his hospital bed.

"Some of you already know this but I figured that now is as good a time as any to toss it more fully into the open. When I was in the digital world I met someone who had a digivice just like Ryan and Chris's."

Takato blinked at that.

"You mean that _Raven_ girl that you asked Chris about the firs time he stayed over at my house?"

Rika blinked at that.

"The same one," said Ryo. "What was her name again? Jay…"

"Jane," said Chris. "Jane Dawn. And don't ask; I don't know a whole lot about her. Do you Ryan…?"

"Not really. I only talked to her once before we got sucked into the digital world. She said only a few words to me regarding my keeping track of my things and that pretty much made up the extent of our conversation, and even our conversations for the entire time that she's been at our school. She doesn't really associate with other people a whole lot."

Yamaki pushed up his sunglasses and looked at Ryo with a hard gaze.

"And _why_ am I only hearing about this now?"

Ryo gave the man a nervous, but confident grin.

"Well a lot _has_ been going on. Yeah, I know, that's not a very good excuse but she seemed perfectly able to move in and out between the real and digital worlds. That's how I got back this time around. I was going to bring her up yesterday, but that fight with the Sakuyamon kinda delayed that…"

"What was she doing there in the first place?" Asked Yamaki.

"Looking for those two guys," said Ryo looking over at Ryan and Chris. "But beyond that she was pretty tightlipped. Although she _did_ mention something called an _Aesir_, which Chris said had to do with some Norse reference."

"A lot of that going around," muttered Rika quietly to herself.

"Why didn't she come with you?" Asked the shades wearing agent.

"There were some…_complications_. It's why she sent me back here in the first place. She didn't want me following her and she didn't want me talking about her either. I had hoped to find a digital portal so that I could go back and track her down…"

"_Without _us, _again?_" Demanded Rika harshly. "When are you going to get it into your thick skull that we're all in this together Ryo? I swear every time we turn around you disappear into the digital world without saying anything or even _hinting_ about you're leaving and then you show up like nothing had ever happened…"

"Gee, Rika. Didn't know that you cared so much."

The Tamers could have sworn that they saw lightning bolts reflecting in Rika's eyes at that moment.

"Man, would you look at the vein on her forehead?" Whispered Terriermon to his partner.

"If you two are done, I would like to move on," said Yamaki starting to sound a little bit annoyed at the Tamer's antics. As mature as they had become in the course of their adventures they _still_ acted like children even in the most serious of situations.

But then, it was that quality that gave them their strength…

* * *

Some time later, the Tamers found themselves getting ready to depart. Although their meeting had been fairly informative and had gone a long way towards putting things in perspective they couldn't say that there had been much at all that it had done to help them. The _Ahuramon's shadow_ information had been interesting, but again not a whole lot had been gleaned about it. Ryan, Chris, and Richoemon certainly knew nothing about it, and it was likely that Caramon, who like most of the other Tamer's digimon was still at Hypnos being looked over following the battle with the Sakuyamon from yesterday, knew nothing about it either. Leomon…the thought that he might know something was of interest and all were certainly eager for information, but as Jeri had pointed out the lion digimon had been unaware of how he had come upon that information. Henry theorized that, depending on the circumstances of his revival (the popular theory at the moment involved a type of Primary Village from the TV show, but there had been nothing in their adventures to indicate that one even existed. Certainly none of the digimon had heard of one) there may have been some defect in his code from being reconstructed after deletion.

Something else to ask the lion hearted warrior later on.

And then there was the Raven girl, Jane. Not a whole lot that any of them could do concerning her. The digital world was a big place after all, with a lot of dangers and ground to cover. Lacking an easy means to travel there they could not just very well go and begin a search and rescue mission. They couldn't depend on the blind luck that they had on their previous adventures with everything that was going on now. And the fact that Ryo said that she could move freely between the worlds was certainly something else to consider, though what the overall impact of that knowledge was they could not tell for sure. If nothing else she was bound to be far safer then they would be if they went. At least she could return home whenever she wanted, though it did raise some questions regarding Ryan and Chris's digivices. Both of them claimed ignorance on any knowledge that they could be used to create individual portals to the digital world. They had entered the real world via a portal that had been in some kind of temple in the digital world, and they had used their digivices to activate it but there wasn't a whole lot that they knew about them concerning their use.

That meant, in Yamaki's own words, that a little experimentation was in order…

* * *

A/N: This chapter was more about looking over some of the major events and plot holes in this story that had been bothering me than any serious plot advancement (though it is in there if you squint hard enough). My writing style has changed quite a bit since I started this fic (which has caused some trouble for me). That and the fact that I hadn't entirely planned it all out, as well as having a relatively long pause in between certain chapters necessitated, I felt, a look back on what has come before and attempt to link it all back together in my mind before I begin the part of the story that gets the plot moving. Filler? Yes, but a necessary filler. The upcoming chapters will work with plot advancement in far greater detail and no doubt complexity as well. We'll see a little bit more of Rika's _possession_ coming out, which will be a major factor in this story. 'Till next time then.

-Crazyeight

* * *

12 


	25. That which Connects us

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 24/ That which Connects us

Rika found herself in the depths of the city wearing her violet colored sunglasses and trench coat. An all too familiar fog surrounded her on all sides and a cold wind swept by her. There was something in front of her as well. Something that _glowed_…

_Burned?_ Whispered a thought in the girl's mind but at the moment she paid no heed to it. It wasn't fully realized yet, but in no more than a few moments she would be able to analyze the digimon that was bio-emerging and prepare an affective strategy against it. She already had a few cards ready of course. The basics. Speed, strength, and power, but as with all things you never knew when you were going to need something with a little more _oomph_ to it or that extra little trick to get you out of a jam. She had learned that the hard way quite a few times in the past.

The form of the glowing digimon began to take shape within the digital field. As it began to finalize its realization Rika slowly reached up and took off her shades as though she were completely unconcerned with the danger that she was about to be in. Subconsciously a strange feeling of _familiarity_ nitpicked in the back corner of her mind. For some reason she felt as though she had done this before. _Been _in this particular situation before. But that was a rather pointless thought. She had been in these battles plenty of times. Aside from the opponent they all tended to be the same, and they all ended with her victory…

_Hold on,_ Rika thought as the digimon finally came into view, her eyes narrowing as she raised her digivice. _Something's off here._

A large, white furred fox stood in front of her, glowing with the light of the pale moon that hung in the sky above them, and eyes that looked out at her with a pale blue color to them that held an air of the supernatural. It certainly wasn't any digimon that she recognized that was for sure. And judging from the readings from her blue trimmed digivice it wasn't any digimon that it recognized either.

_What's going on here?_ Thought Rika with a frown. Well, it didn't matter anyways. A fight was a fight, mysterious digimon or not. She'd just have to be more careful about what kinds of cards she used. Stick to the general ones that had either a multi-purpose affect or had power to them. She couldn't afford to slip up against an unknown…

"Interesting," spoke the white fox suddenly in what was decidedly a female voice, jarring the girl out of her reverie. "So this is how you two met."

_Wha…? What's this thing talking about? Renamon? But this isn't how we… Hold on. Where is Renamon?_

The golden furred kitsune that was her partner was nowhere in sight, and at the same time beyond the senses of the bond that they shared. The how and why of the matter made a cold feeling run its way through her body but she glared defiantly at the white fox. The fox simply chuckled as though at an old joke but was making no threatening moves towards her. As to why this was Rika had no clue. But if it meant that she could use this to find a way to escape until she could find out what happened to Renamon then…

The white fox motioned _her_ head upwards towards the source of the light above them, as though quietly saying that she might want to see what was causing it. For some reason, all thoughts of flight and battle left her mind and curiously Rika raised her own head and followed the white foxes gaze. She wasn't sure why exactly. It was just the moon after all…

Rika's breath caught in her mouth as her eyes connected with the dim, translucent light above them. It wasn't the moon. Not by a long shot. Floating above them was the figure of a boy, looking for all the world like he was scared out of his mind, holding a digivice that was, aside from the difference in the color of the trim, exactly like her own. And what was more, she _knew_ him.

_Takato? What's he doing here? What's going on?_

"That's what I'd like to find out," said the white vixen as she turned her head back to the red haired girl. "I must say I wasn't expecting anything like this. It seems that there's a connection here, one that I mean to investigate so that I can have a better idea of the Dreamer's capabilities. This is most fortunate indeed, and to have it tie back to _you_ of all is even better. The Mjolner's are now unnecessary…provided that is if I can get an understanding of your friend and the bond you share with him. Loki…"

The vulpine creature paused and looked at Rika, who had been staring at her with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and caution. Yet, no fear clouded her eyes or her soul; just a crystal clear desire to protect the friend that the fox was now showing interest in. The fox chuckled once again.

"You think that you can stop me? That you can stop the Manifest? Our _rebirth?_ I know that you've heard all this before; I can sense it in your memories. But I mean what I say. Your friend _will_ help fuel the Manifest one way or another. Even if I fail to deliver his power others will come and will recognize him for what he is. And your new friends…" the foxes face suddenly became sad as she looked at Rika full in the eyes. "_They _will draw them. However unwittingly they will draw my brethren. After all, they share fragments of the same power, the power of dreams. But once they see your friend up there…" the vulpine indicated the now fading form of Takato. "They will come after him. Unlike the others, his dreams aren't fragmented. Just…_asleep."_

Rika's eyes narrowed dangerously as her body tensed. She didn't understand half of what was going on here, knew nothing about this _Manifest_ or whatever it was and she didn't know why this…_thing_ saw Takato and the two new Tamers (or _Keepers_ if that was what they were) as being so important. She felt as though she _should_ know, that it was knowledge that lay just underneath the surface. Regardless. She realized that she didn't really care. All she knew was that whatever was coming threatened them, threatened a friend of hers in particular, and she would do whatever it was in her power to make sure that they wouldn't get their hands on him.

Before she knew it, Rika's form had shifted, _altered_ to match that of her biomerged form with Renamon. Her mouth set in a grim, determined line _Sakuyamon_ hefted her bronze staff and took a step forward.

"You _won't_ have him. I don't care who you are but you are _not_ touching Takato. Not him, or _any_ of my friends!"

The fox gave a small grin, admiring the girl's fiery spirit; it's strength almost a bonfire in the dark of the night that surrounded them.

"You speak as though you have a choice in the matter."

"I make my own destiny," said Sakuyamon in Rika's voice, and she lunged forward, summoning four foxes of fire, water, wind, and lightning to aid her.

There was a flash of light as the two combatants made contact with each other, and then all was silent.

When Rika Nonaka woke up in the real world she would have no memory of what had transpired.

* * *

Daylight streamed through the window of Henry Wong's bedroom as the children gathered inside sat on whatever surface was immediately available to them. Rika looked over each and every one of them, her expression that of disinterest while inside she felt somewhat bored. Tired too. She hadn't slept all that well last night and when she woke up she felt as though she had just gone through a fight with a Wild One. It confused her a little, but then it was just yesterday that she, Ryo, Takato, and Chris had been released from the hospital (likewise for their partners who had been involved in the battle with that red colored Sakuyamon). She supposed that she was still recovering, just like Takato was doing even though he was no longer being held at the hospital. They had given him a clean bill of health and even Hypnos had run him through some tests just to make sure that nothing was amiss (to which nothing was). A good thing too if not surprising. Rika had seen Takato get torn out of his Mega form. She would have expected something a little bit more out of that given the brutality of the move.

_Wasn't the intention to hurt him,_ thought Rika out of nowhere before dismissing the thought as just a symptom of her own exhaustion. Rika took another moment to glance over each of the Tamers and two Keepers that were gathered in Henry's room, frowning at the fact that Takato and Jeri were missing. She knew full well why though. Jeri's _Welcome Home_ party for Leomon had been delayed from everything that had gone on two days ago. It was supposed to have kicked off yesterday in fact but she had it canceled because she didn't want her friends exerting themselves after their battle, and with the increasing frequency of Wild Ones (as they still called them) bio-emerging and wrecking havoc they would all need their rest. Takato however had persuaded her to try and have it today, stating that this way they could all have fun and relax without having to continuously think about the trouble that was coming their way. Rika found this line of thought to be rather naive of him since they had to stay prepared for whatever was coming their way but she had to admit that he did have something of a point in the relaxing part.

_Don't know why he had to go and help her though. She said that she was almost done…_

Rika sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, berating herself for that thought. If things weren't so hectic she would have considered helping out herself. Jeri had gotten Leomon back, and he had come through the Hypnos tests without any trouble at all. There was plenty of reason to celebrate. She felt pretty bad for the puppet-loving girl after she had lost Leomon the first time. She should take a moment to celebrate.

_Still. Wish that I didn't sound jealous of Gogglehead going with her to help out…_

Rika wanted to smack herself for that thought. This was _not_ the time for such things.

_At least Ryo's being good,_ thought Rika as she opened her eyes again, making note of the fact that the Legendary Tamer had been unusually quiet towards her. But then she had made it quite clear from the get-go that she wasn't in the mood to deal with him today. Given that she had yawned shortly after saying that Ryo had easily gotten the point. Sighing a little Rika's mind rejoined the conversation that had been going on around her since she had arrived here. From what she could immediately recall they were all trying to figure out how Ryan and Chris's digivices worked. They could just as easily talk about it with the Hypnos bunch but they were currently busy with the hard science aspect of that. Until they heard something from them there was little else that they could do except think.

_Probably __**would**__ have been better if we were all at Jeri's helping out instead of just Takato, but she said that there wasn't a whole lot left to do._

Rika just shrugged at the thought and began to pay closer attention to the conversation.

"I don't know…" said Chris from his spot on the floor. Caramon lay next to him, bathing in the gentle light of the sun. "Sounds kind of…kind of…" Chris tapped his chin as he tried to think of a proper way to express what he was trying to get at. "It sounds like it's too _simple_ I guess. To clear cut."

"What's your point?" Asked Kazu from his spot a short ways down.

"Just that it's too easy. I don't think I've ever seen anything work that simply in the digital world."

"C'mon! You guys ran across a temple in the middle of nowhere and it brought you home! How simple is that?"

"Well…yeah. I guess so but we nearly didn't make it through. I'd hardly call that simple, especially given that the place was kind of falling apart around us…"

"It was like that in the TV show too you know. First season in fact…"

"Yeah, but you were talking about the second season, which I haven't seen yet. Heck, I haven't even finished the first and Ryan never watched _any_ episodes as near as I can tell. But that's beside the point. You've admitted yourself that getting to the digital world wasn't easy…"

"Yeah, but you said that you and Ryan were told that you haven't used your digivices to their full potential and Ryo _did_ say that that _Jane_ person that he met could go back and forth between worlds…"

"Yeah, but…" Chris grimaced as he thought over what he was about to say. "Ryo didn't say anything remotely resembling what you were describing for going to the digital world. You're telling me that if I go up to Henry's computer and hold out my digivice," Chris hefted his red trimmed, T-shaped device for all to see. "And shout _digi-port open_ I can go to the digital world, and get deposited directly in front of a funny looking television set…"

"Well, probably not exactly like that," said Kazu, grinning slightly and rubbing the back of his head. "But I still think that you should try it. It's not like we have a whole lot of ways to experiment here. Your digivices don't have buttons on them or anything. You…I guess you activate them with your thoughts?"

"That's an apt way of putting it," said Henry from his computer chair. "Kazu does have a point. It might not work since that idea of the digital portal was specific to the TV show and we never found an equivalent in the real world, but digivices do seem to work from the heart of its user no matter what model they are. If it works then we have an easy way going to the digital world and finding your friend."

Chris scratched the back of his head.

"Still seems kinda contrived…"

Caramon rolled his eyes.

"Just give it a whirl already, would ya?! Sheesh. What a time for you to get all wishy-washy!"

"I'm not being wishy-washy," Chris mumbled as he got to his feet and went over to Henry's computer. Henry made room for the boy and everyone got up and walked over to watch the show. Pun not intended.

Chris looked at the computer screen and then at his digivice, feeling a little foolish trying out some plot from a television show but…well, it was like Henry said. They _did_ need to try something out here. And Kazu was right about how these digivices seeming to respond to thoughts. Every time something happened, be it calling up a digimon's stats or activating a scanning program, even digivolution, it had always been a mental call for it. Never something that they consciously realized right away however and it had taken them forever to learn some of the basics about the stupid things. Maybe this time…

_If Jane can do it why can't I?_

Closing his eyes Chris concentrated for a brief moment and then raised his digivice, pointing it at the computer screen.

"Digi-port…OPEN!"

…

…

"…Um…please?"

The computer just sat there, not a single thing happening that would indicate that he had been successful. Unless that is you're of the opinion that their reflections are really their mirror image in a digital version of Henry's room but Chris somehow doubted such was the case.

"Wow," said Terriermon as he dangled from the edge of Henry's seat. "Guess that it doesn't like you."

Chris glared at the little dog-bunny, cheeks flaming for all they were worth. Now he had something of an idea as to why Ryan disliked discussing a certain incident in the digital world involving Suukamon and Chumon.

Rika _hmmphed _and stepped forward.

"You're probably not doing it right," she said reaching out towards the digivice.

Suddenly a spark of electricity reached out and _zapped_ Rika's hand as it closed in, causing everyone to jump back as Rika gave a shout of surprise and pain. Startled, Chris dropped his digivice.

"Aaah! Wha…?"

"Rika!" Exclaimed Henry as he bolted out of his seat, only to pause as the familiar form of Renamon phased into view next to the girl. Rika grimaced as she flexed her hand. The pain was already fading away. It hadn't been anything serious. Just a mild shock. Hardly anything more than what one would get from rubbing their feet on a carpet and touching a piece of metal. But it had been so unexpected…

Renamon glared at Chris, who unconsciously took a step backwards.

"S-sorry. I don't know what that was all about. Honest! It's never done that before!"

Renamon sighed inwardly and nodded, relaxing her hard gaze. She had no reason to be angry with the boy. So far he and his friend hadn't proven himself false and he was just as surprised as the others about that unexpected occurrence. It was just that she didn't like surprises, and she disliked them even less if they attempted to harm her Tamer.

"Rika…?" Renamon began but the girl interrupted her.

"I'm fine," she said, making a visible effort to not sound irritated, all the while disguising the surprise and pain that she had experienced. Flexing her hand again Rika found that the flesh was where she had been shocked was red and a little angry looking, but at least the pain was rapidly disappearing.

"I'll get you some ice," said Henry as he headed for the door only to be stopped by Renamon.

"No need. I'll get it myself." With that Renamon phased over to the door, opened it and disappeared all together from sight before returning a few seconds later with a plastic bag filled with the item in question and handed it over to Rika, who took it with a nod of thanks and pressed it against her hand.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on _now_?" Asked Kazu pointing at Chris's fallen digivice. As one the children turned to look at it, and a fair number of eyebrows were raised as they noticed the halo circle that hovered above its screen. Bending down to one knee Chris tentatively reached out for his digivice, and upon finding that he wasn't going to be shocked by it, picked it up and looked at the data that was being shown to him. The others crowded around to have their own look-see at the information.

Ryan, who had been quiet during the majority of the meeting frowned and read the data aloud.

"Kuzu…noha?" He stated before repeating it again. "Kuzunoha? Any idea what that means?"

Chris frowned as he looked above the name and at an image of what looked to be a white colored fox accompanied by a set of characters underlying the identifying information. He couldn't read them but he was pretty sure that they were Japanese. There was something about the name though that tugged at his mind.

"It sounds familiar…" Chris began uncertainly, pausing as he wracked his brains for any more information that he might have. Unfortunately he came up with none, but for a change of luck someone else did.

"Kuzunoha's a kitsune spirit," said Rika. "A _Kami_ to be more precise. I read a story about her in school last year…"

The other children and assorted digimon were now staring at her expectantly. Rika rolled her eyes.

_Next thing you know they'll be expecting me to explain the universe to them or something…

* * *

_

In the ruins of an ancient temple, its walls scarred and broken by the fierce battle that had taken place little more than a week ago, a dark form stepped out of the shadows, cape billowing around it. It's head swiveled around the darkness of the temple, darkness that was only broken by the flood of light that was coming in through the entrance. As though on some unspoken command, rubble began to shift and move, lifting upwards as the shadows cast by the sunlight and pushed them towards the entrance, becoming more and more solid as the light from the outside world faded until finally the entrance was completely blocked off, leaving nothing more than darkness and the sound of rock scraping upon the ground as they were forcibly moved. Strange shapes moved in the darkness as the sound of stone moving about echoed within the chamber and after many hours the darkness was once more broken by light. This time it was not sunlight that shattered its rule over this temple. This time, it was a light that had shown itself once before when two children and digimon were fleeing from their pursuers. The light that lay in between _worlds_.

_Soon. Soon I shall claim my prize,_ the dark form thought as it wrapped its cloak closer to its body and stepped forwards into the light. The burning brightness enveloped it for a brief moment and then vanished.

The sound of stone doors slamming together as they closed could be heard, and after a brief moment of dust and rubble settling back down, stillness and quiet reigned once again in the temple beneath the sun of the digital world.

* * *

8 


	26. Surprises Abound

A/N: Okay…it's been…what? Two, almost three months since the last update for this story? Sorry. I've just been feeling a low amount of motivation for this story lately. Almost ironic that I get more done on my other works when my first fic isn't even finished. Anyway, after yet another obscenely long hiatus, I present to you the next installment to _Digital Manifest._

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 25/ Surprises Abound

_"SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK!"_

Confetti and streamers flew through the air as words, loud and resounding, joined them before finally the strands of party material came to rest on the massive, broad shoulders of one, very tall and muscular lion-like digimon. Leomon for the most part, kept a neutral expression on his face until Jeri began picking the party favors off of the proud warrior. Leomon's turned to look at the young girl and a small smile appeared on his face as he took in the happy, sparkling expression that his Tamer had, making her _glow_ in a way that he had never known her to before in all the short time that he had known her before their separation. And now, that separation was over. Leomon frowned inwardly as he recalled once again that he didn't know the how or why he was back, especially since the last thing that he remembered before reappearing in the digital world was Jeri, horror stricken as his body began to disperse into shards of data from the mortal wound Beelzemon had inflicted upon him. That had been literally a lifetime ago and many things had happened to him since then. The circumstance of his rebirth escaped him, but was that truly important in the long run? He was back with Jeri now, and in a way his _death_ and rebirth had been beneficial for others. After all, if it weren't for Beelzemon's actions, Ryan and Chris would have died in the digital world…

Leomon's gaze turned to the two boys and their partners who sat across from him, watching him with smiles on their faces. In as many ways this party was also a welcome home celebration for them as it was for him, mostly because it was at Jeri's insistence that it would be. True, Ryan and Chris weren't really _home_ in the sense that they weren't back in their home town, never mind their home country, but they were back in the real world…at least that was the general belief. Although no one had said anything different otherwise, and as far as Leomon knew there was no reason to think otherwise, Leomon somehow had the strange notion that things were not at all right with the two children that he had helped protect during their time in the digital world. Shaking his head, Leomon cast his eyes about the room Leomon took in each and every one of the Tamers and digimon that were gathered around him in the Katou families dining room, chuckling at some of the antics of Guilmon as he drooled over the cake that sat in the center of the table that they sat at, occasionally reaching out with a claw in an attempt to dip into the frosting and sample it only to be stopped by Takato who would quickly scold him for being such a glutton. Rika regarded the pair from her spot next to him with an amused look while Renamon appeared to not be paying attention to them at all although the way that she turned her head away from them indicated otherwise. For some reason Leomon's gaze rested on Rika for a moment before moving on to Henry and Terriermon. Terriermon was currently dancing in his spot, ears upraised and he was singing, that's right, _singing_, rather excitedly at the thought of all the food that had been laid out before them in Leomon's honor (and Leomon had to admit that the size of the spread was rather impressive). Henry was presently shaking his head at his partner but for the time being made no move to make the digimon quieter then he already was.

Next to the two sat Suzie and Lopmon, the former of whom being just as excited as Terriermon, while her partner was the perfect image of quiet, respectable, and above all patient grace at the table. Kazu and Kenta were watching Leomon with broad smiles on their faces while above them MarineAngemon giggled and did aerial flips, and behind the visor-wearing child Guardromon stood impassively, watching everything that went on around him. Impmon was loafing over near Calumon, who was presently dancing even more excitedly then Terriermon was. Impmon had a somewhat dark expression on his face and was tapping his fingers impatiently. Leomon remembered some of the things that Jeri told him about this particular digimon when he first entered the house (an event that had caused him to tense up instinctively upon learning of Impmon's full identity), how he had been the one that had delivered the final blow to him and loaded his data, and how he had later repented for his misdeeds and fought alongside the Tamers and had been partnered to _two_ of them himself (both of whom were sitting behind him, beaming impossibly wide smiles at having been invited to the party). He couldn't imagine that the viral Rookie was at all comfortable with the situation, especially since they had yet to talk…

_**"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"**_

Leomon winced and clenched one, massive paw tight before relaxing, shaking his head mentally as something that _felt_ like a memory tore its way through his mind before vanishing just as quickly as it came. A brief image of Beelzemon…Beelzemon with _wings_ firing his own, lion fist attack at him flickered across his image, but he couldn't make any sense of it. It had been too quick. Had it even been there to begin with? For some reason, any importance that the image might have had became…_less_, and soon enough Leomon's mind returned to the party at hand, his small smile growing into a grin.

"My friends," Leomon began with a slight incline of his head, a gesture of respect to each and every one of them. "You do me much honor…"

"You're welcome!" Exclaimed Terriermon. "Now let's _dig in_ already!"

There followed a most predictable sigh that caused Leomon to chuckle under his breath.

"Terriermon…"

* * *

The party was going well. Ryan didn't have any doubts about that. Even though he felt a little bit out of place amongst the Japanese Tamers and had a number of things on his mind even he was having fun. He smiled as he watched Suzie sing some bizarre song called _Princess Pretty Pants_ while Lopmon and Terriermon danced in the background. In a lot of ways Henry's little sister reminded him of his own, the one that he got to see twice a week instead of the usual seven like it was _supposed _to be, but there was no point in complaining about that aspect of his life. That was between their mother and father. Besides, why complain about something when he was here and having a good time? 

_You mean besides the fact that I'm not home?_ Wondered Ryan sardonically before furrowing his brow. He still hadn't gotten around to telling Chris about what he had learned from Hypnos…about how their government had no files on them or even on their hometown. It was possible that there had been a goof up, but given some of the things that they had experienced in the past few months (or however long they had been in the digital world) Ryan felt that he wouldn't put anything past the universe now, and that included dumping him in some alternate reality or even in Dr. Who's TARDIS box. He frankly wouldn't have been surprised if that happened, though depending on which incarnation of the good Doctor it was he would have been happy enough that fate had chosen such a convenient spot to drop him in and would have promptly asked for an autograph. The strangeness of finding a real alien who looked remarkably like the British actor David Tennant aside, anything that would be surprising was gradually beginning to lose that kind of effect on both him and Chris. After that encounter with Sukamon and Chuumon Ryan was ready to believe in anything that the universe threw at them, right down to the existence of Santa Clause.

_Yes Virginia,_ thought Ryan sarcastically. _He exists. Though in this case he might have the word __**mon**__ attached to the end of his name. Hmmm…wonder what he'd look like if that were the case. I'll bet he'd have a tail…_

Ryan sighed and picked up his drink and proceeded to take a sip from it, listening to Kazu and Kenta engross themselves with various retellings of their adventures to Leomon, and judging from the expression on Takato and Rika's faces they were exaggerating quite a bit.

_Ryo's late,_ thought Ryan looking over his shoulder and at the clock. That was to be expected he supposed. Ryo lived quite a fair distance away from the other Tamers, in a completely different district no less though which one he couldn't recall right off the top of his head. No doubt he was going to take things easy with Monodromon and not fly over and cut out the majority of the footwork and train stops from the journey. Ryan wouldn't have blamed him for doing so. Although he hadn't been there for the fight against the crimson colored Sakuyamon he had seen the after effects, and most of the Tamers had to be put on bed rest to recuperate. It had been the main reason why Jeri had delayed her party as long as she had, and would have held it off longer if not for Takato, who insisted that they not let recent events prevent them from celebrating Leomon's return to the real world and into her life, a sentiment that the rest of the Tamers shared full heartedly.

_Things certainly have been pretty hectic ever since we got here though,_ thought Ryan, thinking back over the events that had occurred upon their arrival in the real world and how each of the attacks from wild digimon seemed to have been focused on himself and Chris's digivices. The battle that he, Terradramon, Rika, and Renamon had with the strange Gargomon certainly drove that point home, never mind the apocalyptic fight with the red colored Sakuyamon. So far the past couple of days had been pretty quiet, with the only major thing happening being the recap of recent events and the experimentation with Chris's digivice with Henry's computer to see if they could open up a portal to the digital world, and the experiment ended in failure and with Rika getting zapped by said digivice when she tried her own hand at it. A weird happenstance to be sure, especially given that it had never occurred when any of the other Tamers had touched the so-called _Mjolner_ digivices (as that strange Gargomon had called them) before, and what was more after it had shocked Rika the digivice called up the image of a mythical kitsune spirit called _Kuzunoha_ from Japanese legend just like it normally would when analyzing a digimon. Rika had told them a little bit about the myth of the _white furred fox_ that had taken human form after being rescued by a nobleman from a hunter. Chris had been fascinated by the tale and had asked quite a few questions on the matter before finally being told that if he wanted the full story he'd have to visit a library or see one of the plays that reenacted it.

Kenta, much to everyone's surprise, had volunteered to help Chris out with researching the story.

_Whatever floats his boat I suppose,_ thought Ryan as he took another sip from his drink. Given that the image of the mythical creature had shown up on Chris's digivice, there might be something to finding a little bit more about it. Henry said that most, if not all digimon were derived from some kind of mythological figure from humanities past (Leomon, for example, came from the astrological sign of Leo the Lion), so any knowledge about Kuzunoha might help give some kind of clue as to what was coming. Ryan, for his part didn't know how an old Japanese myth could help in that regard but didn't say anything against it. After all, Henry could be right, and he seemed to be the type of person who was right on a regular basis.

* * *

"Enjoying yourself Impmon?" Asked Renamon softly as she phased into view behind the Rookie that was her friend, a small smile appearing on her face when he nearly choked on a piece of cake upon her surprising him. Quickly gulping down the rest of the cake in one go Impmon turned and glared at the golden furred kitsune. 

"What're you playin' at, sneaking up on me like dat? Just about gave me a heart attack!"

"I was just wondering how you and your Tamers are getting along here," said Renamon glancing over to where Ai and Mako were as they played with Lopmon and Terriermon and listening to Suzie talk about all the times that she dressed up Terriermon in her doll clothes, with Terriermon looking extremely indignant all the while and hotly denying everything that she was telling the twins. "But I can see that your partners are doing fine on their own, so that leaves me wondering about you."

Impmon scowled at the kitsune digimon.

"You're going somewhere wid dis right?"

Renamon chuckled at Impmon's keen observation before becoming serious and dropping her voice down a couple tones so that only he could hear her.

"I am curious as to whether or not you have found anything out about Leomon. After all, it wasn't that long ago that you said that you were going to have a talk with him, and that was _after_ you told me that he is not the same Leomon. Now I've held off on telling Rika and the others about your suspicions, especially where Jeri is concerned until you have found something…"

"I get da point," grumbled Impmon, his scowl deepening even more. "I just…haven't found da time yet."

Renamon raised an eyebrow at him.

_That doesn't sound right. When we first discussed this after that incident with Richoemon dark digivolving Impon sounded as though he were going to talk to Leomon no matter what it took. To __**size him up**__ I believe was the operative term he used, and yet he says that he hasn't done a thing to approach him. Is he too nervous because of what happened between them? Or is it something else?_

The truth of the matter was a little bit more complicated then that, and Impmon wasn't too sure as to whether or not he should divulge it. He was still unsure about it himself. He distinctly remembered going out to search for Leomon, but after a certain point his memory seemed to stop and became a great blank spot in his mind right up until he woke up and found himself alone on top of a roof and a tad bit the worse for wear. He had no idea how it was that he had gotten there. Although he hadn't exactly been keeping track of just where he was in the city, his memorization of certain, familiar landmarks told him that he wasn't where he remembered himself being. Ditto for the placement of the sun in the sky. He was missing a piece of his day and he had no idea what it was that had happened to it. Would Renamon believe him if he told her about that? And what exactly would it prove? For all she knew he could have been attacked by a wild digimon like the rest of them were. After all, that had been a day for that sort of thi…

Impmon clutched at his temples suddenly, biting back a cry of pain as his head began pounding. He heard something…a sound, probably Renamon calling out to him and asking if he was all right, but he couldn't tell for sure. Right now it felt as though his mind wanted to rip itself in two. An image flashed across his vision. An image of a winged lion, wrapped in a blinding glow of white light, and it was charging at him as he, in his Mega form, prepared to fire off a _Fist of the Beast King _attack.

_Wha…? What's going on…?_

The image, and the pain vanished all of a sudden, and Impmon blinked his wide, green eyes as he realized that Renamon looking at him with concern painted clearly on her face.

"Yeah? What? I got something on my face? What're you lookin' at me for?"

"Impmon," said Renamon firmly as she grasped him by the shoulder with one gloved paw. "You looked as though you were in pain…"

Impmon frowned.

"So? I was eatin' too fast when you scared me. Dat's what you get for sneaking up on people, you know."

Renamon sighed and let go of the little imp's shoulder. Impmon grumbled, got to his feet and walked out of the room, saying that he needed a moment to get some air and that he'd be back. Renamon watched him go with a contemplative expression on her face.

* * *

Impmon's exit did not go unnoticed. A pair of cerulean colored eyes belonging to a certain, lion warrior tracked the imp's movements before returning back to the party, his expression masking the troubled feeling roiling in his heart and mind. 

"Jeri?" Asked Leomon turning to his partner. Jeri looked up at the great lion with a smile of happiness and supreme contentment on her face.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"I just saw Impmon leave, and he looked rather upset about something. Could there be something wrong?"

Jeri looked around the room and found that Leomon had been telling the truth. Impmon had vacated the premises. Of course, there could have been any reason why he had chosen to leave the room, one of them involving a trip to the bathroom, but Leomon had said that he looked upset. Jeri's eyes became downcast as she thought of him, already guessing at his reasons, and her tone softened a little when she spoke.

"Impmon…he's never been the same since you and him fought in the digital world. From what the others tell me he was pretty out of it for a while because he felt so bad about what he did, and how it affected me. I think that it hurts him still that when he tried to save me and broke through the cornel sphere of the D-Reaper using your strength…I wouldn't go to him. In fact, the first thing I said to him when he broke through was that he wasn't…_you._"

Jeri's eyes became downcast as she thought back on that time and Leomon placed a large, but comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Perhaps we should go talk to him and set his mind at ease," said Leomon.

Much to Leomon's surprise Jeri shook her head in negation.

"Leomon… As much as I know that you're right about you and Impmon needing to talk,I also know that it's sometimes best not to force someone to talk about something if they're not ready for it. Impmon…he knows now that he hurt himself a lot more then he believed when he was trying to destroy us back in the digital world, and knowing what he did to you and how that affected me…it's not exactly easy for him. We'll talk to him Leomon. Maybe tonight, but I'd rather that the others weren't around when we do. He's…never been very comfortable in public when it came to…_that_."

Leomon looked back to the doorway that Impmon had exited in, a light growl reverberating in the back of his throat. A part of him he found wasn't any more ready to deal with Impmon then he was with Leomon, and there was quite a bit of distrust held in the lion digimon's heart for the viral Demon Lord due to the circumstances of their _last_ meeting, but it was tempered back by the respect that Jeri and the rest of her friends had for him and for his relentless struggle to rescue Jeri from the clutches of D-Reaper. He had given his all and he had very nearly succeeded in saving her. The fact that he had nearly died in the attempt had done much to raise Leomon's measure of him and his respect, but again, due to their history he could not fully bring himself to reconcile with Impmon in his heart until they did so face to face.

A part of him wanted to do that, and accept Impmon's friendship with gratitude and humbleness…

…And yet there was another part that cried out against it, and Jeri's words worked more to its favor in persuading Leomon otherwise.

Leomon listened to that other voice, and to Jeri. For now that is.

* * *

Takato placed a dirty, food encrusted plate from the pile that sat on the kitchen counter and into the dishwasher, humming softly to himself as he did so. The party was going well. had been going well for the past couple of hours now, and so far it looked like the digital world fully intended to behave and let the Tamers have the rest of the day to themselves without fear of a Wild One crashing it. Jeri's mother had stepped in to clear the table of the dirty and now unused dishes and Jeri had been all set to help her, but Takato had volunteered in her place. '_It was her and Leomon's party_,' he had told her, and she should be allowed to enjoy it without having to worry about the little things. His washing the dishes was a little something extra that he had tagged on to relieve Jeri's mother from having to do it (something that she had thanked him for and told him how lucky Jeri was to have a friend like him around, and making him blush profoundly with pride and slight embarrassment at the compliment). He didn't mind really, and the chore gave him the opportunity to have some quiet time to reflect on all the good things that have been happening lately. Oh sure, danger was afoot again but Takato enjoyed the adventures…after a fashion that is as he could say that he had come to dislike the fighting part of it more then he used to back when being a Tamer was all still new to him and the grip of fantasy that the TV show held over him was at its height. Danger and threats aside, Takato was an optimist at heart, and he always tried to look at the bright side of things. Leomon was back and Jeri was happy. Two Tamers who had been trapped in the digital world were back and they could go home soon once Yamaki succeeded in tracking down their families. 

_Of course they still have to hope that their parents take the whole __**digital world**__ thing well and don't freak out over the digimon. I still remember how my mom reacted when she first met Guilmon…_

Takato was reaching for another plate when someone handed one to him when he wasn't looking. His eyes blinking Takato looked over to see Rika standing behind him and smirking, faintly amused by his surprise. After a couple seconds Takato smiled back and carefully took the plate that she handed him and placed in the dish rack.

"Hey Rika. Um…what's up?"

Rika shrugged.

"Not you obviously, but we have gravity to thank for that."

"Very funny. I meant what are you doing _here_? I mean, the party's out there you know…"

Rika had been in the process of grabbing a plate and placing it in the dishwasher as he said that, and she fixed him with a contemplative stare that made Takato suddenly feel nervous about the way that had sounded.

"What's the matter Gogglehead? Don't want me around?"

"Ah! No!" Takato waved his hands in a placating gesture as he began to feel flustered, and he wished that he would at least one of these days think about what he was going to say before he said it. "It's just…well, the fun's out there and there's…ah…the dirty dishes here. I guess it just seems kind of weird that you're here instead of…uh…there. I guess."

Rika snorted and gave the boy a sharp look.

"You're here. So what's your excuse?"

"I just…wanted to help make Jeri's party enjoyable for her. She did a lot to prepare it so I thought that I'd do something for her."

Takato turned his eyes away and resumed stacking the dirty dishes and glasses in the dishwasher, feeling his face heat up as a feeling of discomfort fell over him. The two friends finished up stacking the dishwasher, closed it up and turned it on. As the dishwasher began to do its job Rika and Takato leaned their backs against it and folded their arms across their chests as though in imitation of each other.

"Well your intentions are more noble then mine then," she said finally. "In answer to your question I wasn't all that terribly interested in the games that Jeri had set up. Nothing against them, but they seemed kind of kiddish to me…"

"I'd hate to point this out to you but digimon is a kid's game…"

Rika chuckled and bumped Takato playfully with her left hip.

"Wow. Takato actually makes a point…not."

"Well it was before I became a Tamer," said Takato defensively, though the grin on his face belied his tone. In times past he would have been surprised by the way Rika was behaving, but a year had done a lot to change her. She was now more open about her feelings and more trusting. It was rather nice seeing her open up like this and letting go of the barriers that she had thrown up when they first met.

"And when was that exactly?" Asked Rika, her tone continuing to be teasing, but not holding any spite or malicious intent to her words. Instead they had the sound of strong friendship to them. "When you were being toilet trained? Face it Takato, digimon is _not_ the children's card game that you say it is."

"Technically we're still kids…"

"Maybe _you_ are but sometimes with you it's hard to tell. You're a weird kid Takato. I swear, just when I finally start thinking that you've finally grown up and matured you go and do something that sounds like a six year old came up with. It's like you're stuck or something."

"Um…is that bad?" Asked Takato with one raised eyebrow.

Rika looked like she was actually giving that some thought.

"Mmmm…not always. At least when you do something boneheaded it's amusing and we all get a good laugh out of it."

"Well at least I do something right," said Takato, not sure if he should take that as a compliment or an insult.

"It's consistent at least, I'll give you that. Well, _most_ of the time, but even that's consistent too. Keeps you from being boring."

Takato rubbed the back of his head nervously at that.

"Um…hooray for me?"

A pall of silence fell between them.

"So…uh…how are things between Tom and your mom?"

"Okay I guess. Nothing new to report anyway but they definitely seem serious about each other, so I guess that's good. Makes me wonder sometimes what life would be like if they…"

Takato raised an eyebrow as Rika let her sentence drift off as her face took on an introspective expression.

"If they what?"

"Hm? It's nothing really. I'm just thinking out loud. Tom said something cryptic a while ago, a little bit after you first met him about how it looked like he was going to be around for a while, so I guess I was just thinking…"

_Ah._ Takato nodded almost unknowingly to himself, as a light clicked on upstairs. "You're wondering what it would be like they got married?"

"Perceptive today aren't we?" Joked Rika. "But then I guess you would be. You are the _Dreamer_ of the group after all…"

Takato shifted uncomfortably as he felt his face turn slightly red. Even if they had discussed the matter of his dream about her _without_ it ending in violence (a fact that still amazed the Gogglehead to no end) Takato felt that he would never be comfortable about the subject even if Rika let him live to be five hundred. It was just so strange thinking about it and he tried not to.

"Anyway," continued Rika, taking no notice of her friend's apparent discomfort. "Yeah. I am wondering what it would be like. I'm not opposed to the idea by any means but it would be a big step to me, and for my mother."

"I'm sure that you could get through it," said Takato as he fought down the last remnants of his blush. He was rather surprised that he was speaking so fluently in spite of the earlier discomfort. "After all, you've been through a lot of challenges already and you've got us here backing you. And I know that you love your mom and…uh…um…"

Rika smiled as Takato fumbled over his words now, his fluency a thing of the past once again. Briefly she was reminded of the conversation that they had once shortly after the Parasimon incident when she had talked to him, and later Henry about her father. It had been surprising then how simply talking about that had made her feel better about having memories of her father forced on her again after so long. Maybe that was the reason why she had come to trust Henry and Takato more with what was on her mind and became even better friends then before. It had after all led to her telling them about Tom, something that she wouldn't have felt very inclined to do in the past. She certainly felt closer to both of them after that and never once did she feel as though she were pressured into it.

_Funny…_

"I didn't exactly come here looking for a pep talk or a friendship speech Takato," said Rika after a moment, closing her eyes. "But even so, despite its rather poor execution there at the end…thanks. And thanks especially for listening."

"Ah…sure," said Takato with a smile, though he looked somewhat red in the face again from having skipped up on his words as usual. "Don't mention it."

Rika glanced over at the boy as a small smile crept onto her face. Takato held her gaze for a moment as the dull redness that had been decorating his cheeks began to steadily increase in intensity and he looked away. Rika chuckled inwardly and looked away herself, contemplating on how it was that Takato could get so jumpy over the simplest of things. After all, it wasn't as though anything had been happening between them that been more then simple friendship.

As Rika rolled this thought around in her mind her eyes frowned as she felt a strange sense come over her. Looking out towards a nearby window Rika frowned at the sky as it began to darken from the sun's journey towards the western horizon. She felt a strange sense of _something_, something that was approaching steal over her. And try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling loose.

_That sky looks a little __**too**__ dark for some reason,_ thought Rika as she looked at the kitchen's clock. _Weird. The time's right…_

Rika shook her head, but the feeling continued to haunt her.

* * *

11 


	27. The Shadow Descends

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 26/ The Shadow Descends

Impmon paced around on the roof, his hands held behind his head as he looked up towards the darkening sky and a look of supreme irritation painted on his face. He knew that he shouldn't have a reason to feel this way, but his dark mood refused to leave him. It was rather unfair that the negative feelings that he was presently experiencing were caused by Leomon's presence, after all his return all but completely erased the crime that he had done against the lion digimon, Jeri, and the rest of the Tamers. Jeri was happy and his slate was wiped clean.

Except it wasn't.

Impmon had a strange feeling that something was up. Strange headaches, missing memories, and flashes of images in his brain aside, Impmon knew that something was _very_ definitely rotten in the state of Denmark, or in this case Shinjuku. He had plenty of reason to believe that this was the case, one of which being this. He still held Leomon's data within his body. Closing his eyes, Impmon brought one red gloved fist to his heart, feeling a familiar tingle of energy trace its way through his body, causing his hand to give off a soft, orange glow. He was still there, still in his body. There was no denying that. Impmon had absorbed the lion's data himself, had called upon his power and, on rare occasions, had even _felt_ as though the proud warrior was standing by his side, _lending_ him his strength that he had even when it wasn't being called upon. And now this new Leomon…whatever he was, he knew the Tamers and acted just as they expected him too. Impmon hadn't known the mighty Champion except during his two encounters with the Tamers in the digital world so he couldn't make an estimate as to how genuine he was. According to Renamon, Guilmon said that he smelled the same as Leomon, and _Jeri_ certainly believed that it was him. If it weren't for Guilmon's incredible sense of smell Impmon's doubts would be even greater, because even though he hated to see the puppet loving girl in this way, he did have to wonder if she wanted Leomon to be back among the living so badly that she was willing to take in anything that this _other_ one said at face value.

As it had been noted however, Guilmon's nose usually knows all, and with the exception of the data that he carried within him, Impmon had nothing to go on that could disprove that this Leomon wasn't the Leomon that everyone thought he was.

_Except…_

There was this little detail. Some time ago he had promised Renamon after confiding in her about his suspicions that he would get to the bottom of this mystery, and he had set off with the intention of having a little _chat_ with him on the matter. He remembered bounding from rooftop to rooftop, and then he thought that his eyes had caught sight of him…

…And that was where his memories became questionable, for the next thing that he knew he woke up on the top of a roof in a _completely_ different area from where he remembered being, feeling incredibly sore and hungry on top of that. Lacking any idea as to what had happened Impmon had gone home to see about getting something to eat so that at least one of his discomforts could be taken care of. After that, all thought of Leomon and solving his mystery evaporated from his mind until Jeri had informed him of her party. Most unusual, and then there was the peculiar headache followed by the hallucination that he had experienced when Renamon began questioning him about what he had found out concerning Leomon.

Impmon shook his head, wondering about that strange incident, feeling that maybe it would be best to let Renamon know about it. She tended to have a pretty good head on her shoulders, but then there also stood a pretty good chance that she wouldn't believe him about his lack of memories. After all, he didn't believe it himself, but there it was, as plain as the daylight that was beginning to fade. Impmon frowned as he turned his emerald eyes to see Henry beginning to take his leave from the party so that he could take Suzie and Lopmon home. Tamer or not, Suzie was still young and would need her rest. She was a growing girl. Come to think of it, he was going to need to take Ai and Mako home soon as well…

Impmon stiffened as he felt a familiar presence appear next to him, and a purple-gloved hand was placed on his tiny shoulder.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Asked Renamon as she sat down next to him. Impmon raised an eyebrow at the vulpine digimon.

"Takin' up more of dose human sayin's, fox-face? You know dey don't do much for makin' you sound smart…"

"Only from your perspective," said Renamon as she removed her paw from the imp's shoulder and gave him a cool, amused, but also concerned look with her deep, azure colored eyes. "But I for one happen to like them. Now I came to check up on you after what happened back at the party, but if you don't feel that you're ready to talk just yet…"

Renamon got up to leave, but Impmon's voice prevented her from doing that.

"I did go looking for Leomon," said Impmon. Renamon paused and gazed at him, one of her ears cocking to one side as she listened carefully to him. "It was around da same time that you guys had that run-in with that weird Sakuyamon t'ing dat Jeri told me about. Da reason why da party was delayed for so long?"

Renamon nodded carefully before sitting back down next to her viral friend.

"And why did you say instead that you _haven't found the time_ when I first asked you about it? If it was because we were in a public setting we could easily have been out here sooner instead of you sulking out here alone? Did you actually discover something?"

Impmon bit his lip and scowled.

"Forget I said anyt'ing…"

Renamon's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Impmon…if you're hiding something, something that might have importance in regards to Jeri's safety…"

"I _don't!"_ Impmon grated, turning on the vulpine digimon with a furious gaze, his gloved hands clenched into fists. The two friends met each other, glare for glare for a few moments before Impmon relented, turning away from Renamon as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Dat is…I…I don't know…"

Renamon waited for him to continue.

"I don't know…dis just seems so weird. Just t'inkin' about it makes my head hurt…" Impmon blinked at that and chuckled harshly. "I'm sure you've noticed dat already…"

"Impmon, what are you trying to say?"

Impmon fidgeted with his hands for a few seconds, debating whether or not he should tell her about…what he no longer knew or remembered knowing. He _should_, but he was still uncertain about it. No…there was something wrong here. Something didn't sit right, and it was made even more so after that headache that he had when Renamon brought up the subject of Leomon with him. He had to tell _someone_. Otherwise this was going to eat away at him unless he confronted Leomon directly, and if his missing memories were any indication, he wasn't sure if it would be a smart idea to do something like that a second time without someone else aware of the situation.

"Da t'ing is…I remember going out to look for Leomon, and then I thought I saw him…" Impmon shook his head. "…After dat the next t'ing I know I'm waking up on a rooftop on a different roof from where I was, feeling like I had da stuffin' knocked outta me. And den, earlier, when you t'ought dat you saw me in pain…I was. I saw somet'ing in my head. It looked like I was fightin' somet'ing, but…"

Impmon groaned as he felt his temples beginning to throb. He didn't even notice when Renamon grabbed hold of him by his shoulders.

"Impmon! Are you all right?"

"Nnnng…you mean besides da fact dat my head feels like someone's tryin' to drive a spike through my head? I'm dandy. I hope dat dis really is somet'ing dat I ate…"

"Be serious Impmon," said Renamon, her eyes frowning, recalling that the symptoms of Impmon's headache happened the last time that they tried talking about Leomon. The timing couldn't be a coincidence…could it? Unless Impmon had resorted to lying to help get Renamon to pay closer attention to what he was saying, which she highly doubted he'd do. True, Impmon had tried to trick her in the past, but after they had become friends he had never gone out of his way to deceive her, as he knew full well after the last time he had tried to do something like that, she in turn had tricked him into being defeated in a fight with Terriermon (an experience that he had so far only described as _unpleasant)_, but that was besides the point. What was, was that Impmon was in pain for some unexplained reason that may or may not have something to do with his attempts to learn something about Leomon. And with his story of _memory loss_…

Renamon frowned mentally as she recalled some of the things that had come up concerning Leomon when the Tamers had that meeting with Yamaki at the hospital. She was starting to hope that there was something else going on, and that Leomon was not some kind of _Trojan horse_. However, given some of the things that they had all experienced since their adventures had began, one of which being the D-Reaper actually taking on Jeri's form in order to learn more about the human world, Renamon wouldn't put anything past the real or digital worlds in how they conducted their affairs.

_If something is wrong, and Leomon isn't who we think he is, how would Jeri react? And the other Tamers, Ryan and Chris, what do they know about this? Could they be a part of some kind of invasion force? A deception of some sort so that they could accurately gauge our strengths and weaknesses? They certainly have had enough time for it, and enough access. _

Renamon felt a flash of anger surge through her before she swiftly, and brutally, crushed it. She had no proof of wrongdoing on Ryan and Chris's part any more then Impmon did with Leomon (though with what he had just revealed to her that was starting to become doubtful). Right now, her first priority was to do what she could for Impmon and keep an eye out for any trouble.

Impmon's breathing was just starting to return to normal when Renamon felt something tugging at the edge of her senses. Almost against her will, Renamon's head snapped over in the direction of the horizon, her blue and black eyes narrowing down to slits as she saw dark clouds begin to gather in the sky, circling around each other in a way that reminded the vulpine digimon of the digital zone that had appeared during the Locomon and Parasimon incident during Rika's birthday.

"Something's coming," Renamon whispered unknowingly to herself.

"That's an understatement," growled a gruff voice from behind the two digimon. Eyes widening in surprise, Impmon and Renamon both looked over their shoulders to find Leomon placing Jeri on the rooftop carefully, making sure that she wasn't going to fall before continuing. "I have seen this phenomenon before when in the digital world. It has never meant good things."

Renamon looked at the lion digimon, wondering why it was that he and Jeri were here before quickly pushing the thought aside. As much as she was beginning to distrust Leomon now, he hadn't proven himself false in any way that she could see as he had fought by their side with the same determination and zeal as he always had before he had _died_, and he had information that could prove useful in the upcoming situation. Next to her, Impmon stiffened as he put himself on guard around the lion digimon, but as yet, like herself, chose not to do anything until Leomon revealed himself to be something more then what he appeared.

"And what can you tell us about this _phenomenon_?" Prompted Renamon cautiously. Jeri gave the kitsune digimon a strange look before looking back over to Leomon to see what his reaction was going to be. Leomon simply crossed his arms across his broad chest and frowned.

"Not much I'm afraid," he said with a tone of frustration. "What I have seen was only its aftereffects; the devastation that it leaves behind in its wake. I had at first attributed it to some kind of energy disruption in the digital world much like what we had seen when we had first encountered Beelzemon." Leomon gave a nod towards the impish digimon, and he met Leomon's gaze with a scrutinizing look before nodding himself. He remembered that day when he had first went after the Tamers in his new Mega form. A strange storm had started up and forced him to withdraw. Renamon likewise nodded, remembering that day as well, and that Takato, Henry, and Terriermon had been separated from them shortly afterwards. For a moment, Renamon's doubts were assuaged by this recollection. There were very, _very_ few outside of their own group who actually knew about their adventures with that kind of detail. Even so, Impmon's words from their interrupted conversation rang within the depths of her mind, reminding her to be on her guard until she knew for certain just what was going on with the _newcomers_ that had crash landed in Shinjuku.

"But?" Asked Renamon, feeling as though Leomon had more to say on the mysterious energy configuration that was developing in Shinjuku.

Leomon's frown deepened as he looked at the rotating clouds of digital energy in the evening sky.

"Yes. _But._ As I made my way through the digital world, I began to encounter beings that were very much like the Apemon that we had fought the day after Ryan, Chris, and I bio-emerged. In addition, I began to hear the name _Ahuramon's Shadow_ more and more frequently from digimon who were striving to either flee from the occurrence or do battle with it, and more and more it seemed as though its movements had an actual intelligence driving it. It targeted areas filled with digimon frequently, sending multitudes of digimon on a great migration towards wherever they could find safety. I remember hearing rumors of a great army of Parasimon that had been uprooted from its home after one such incident…"

Jeri's eyes suddenly widened at that and a light gasp escaped her mouth.

"Leomon…you…you never said anything about that when I mentioned the Parasimon incident to you…"

Leomon grimaced.

"You remember what we talked about after we visited Ryan at the hospital?" Leomon asked his Tamer.

Renamon and Impmon turned their gaze to the brown haired girl with curious expressions on their faces. Jeri began to look nervous but she pressed onwards.

"Yes," she answered softly.

"The case is very much the same here." Leomon turned to face his comrades. "I'm sure that you two have many questions. Particularly _you_ Impmon." Impmon blinked at that, and truth be told, so did Leomon. He didn't know where that had come from. "I will do my best to answer your questions, but right now we have to do whatever we can to put a stop to what's coming. If we do not, there stands a strong likelihood that Shinjuku _will_ be destroyed!"

As if his words had been some kind of signal, the digital zone off in the distance sparked and thunder rumbled through the air like some kind of monstrosity that was being let loose upon the unsuspecting citizenry of the city.

* * *

"What's going on?!" Demanded Yamaki as he dashed into the control room where his two network operators, Riley and Talley were busily typing away on their computer councils, strain clearly evident on their faces as they tried to keep up with the sudden and unexpected influx of data that had appeared on the surrounding monitors.

"A massive data stream is emanating from the core of the digital world," exclaimed Riley as she analyzed the incoming data. "This is…_beyond_ anything that we've ever seen, and it's disrupting our systems. Not even the _D-Reaper_ was like this when it first appeared! We're in danger of suffering widespread system damage!"

"There's just too much information for our processors to handle," said Talley. "I'm adjusting the servers to compensate but it's only a temporary fix sir. Initiating emergency counter measures and sending tracers…" Talley suddenly gasped as the readings on her screen suddenly began to go wild. "Wha…? What is this…? This data…I've never seen anything like this!"

"What's happening?" Yamaki gritted his lighter harshly between his right hand, his grip straining against its open top. Something bad was coming…he could feel it in his bones.

"The tracers are picking up an abnormality in the digital zone. Something's attempting to bio-emerge. Whatever it is, it has data patterns that I've _never_ seen before! It's preparing to breach! I can't stop it!"

The sound of the top of Yamaki's lighter clattering noisily upon the ground as it broke off under the pressure that the head of Hypnos placed upon it echoed within the room.

_No…

* * *

_

"Rika? Are you okay?" Asked Takato as he looked at the red headed Tamer with a worried expression on his face. She had been staring out the window with a fierce expression for some time now, but when he looked he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

_Maybe if I checked another window…_ thought Takato as he began to get worried about his friend, wondering what it was that was making her be like this. Was it something that he said? As far as he could tell he hadn't said anything that could have made her upset or anything, unless he had goofed up more then usual. Takato did a quick mental check of what he had previously said when Rika didn't answer his question, but he couldn't come up with anything. She had actually been in a rather good mood and hadn't given him any indication that he had said anything that he shouldn't have. The sudden change in attitude had just come about when she looked out the window.

_Maybe I'm missing something,_ thought Takato feeling that maybe it _would_ be a good idea to check the scenery out more thoroughly if Rika didn't respond to him soon.

"Rika?" Takato placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention, and withdrew said appendage quickly when Rika's face darkened even more, her gaze never once breaking away from the window.

_Oookay…better not do that again…_

"Um…Rika…is everything al…?"

"Something's wrong," Rika said flatly, causing Takato to breathe a sigh of relief, grateful that she was now talking to him again. Now if only she would let him know just what it was that was bugging her like this…

"What is?" Asked Takato, feeling a little creeped out by the way Rika was acting. For some reason she was reminding him of how Guilmon would act whenever a wild digimon bio-emerged into the real world.

Instead of answering with words Rika simply grabbed Takato by the wrist and began to drag him out of the kitchen. Takato sputtered in surprise and his feet nearly tripped up before quickly remembering their balance and matched Rika's pace before he abruptly pulled the two of them to a stop.

"Rika!" Exclaimed Takato, the worry that he had been feeling towards his friend suddenly taking on a razors edge to it. "What's going on?"

Rika's eyes narrowed for a moment, and for a brief moment Takato could have sworn that he was looking at someone completely different from the Rika that he knew before the red headed girl blinked. Slight confusion graced her features before settling into a firm gaze once more.

"I…don't know Takato," said Rika, puzzlement clear in her voice, but accompanied with a steely certainty in what she said next. "I've just…got a weird feeling. Something's coming…"

"Something is," said Renamon as she phased into view behind Rika, causing Takato to jump slightly at her sudden appearance. He had been so focused on what Rika was saying and what was wrong with her that he hadn't made room for any other occurrences to interrupt them. "There appears to be a digital field forming in Shinjuku similar to what occurred when the Parasimon invaded. Leomon has reason to believe that it is dangerous."

Takato's expression suddenly became hard.

"Then we have to take care of it! Henry probably already knows about it so he might be heading down there now! He's going to need backup! What else did Leomon say about this digital field?"

"I'll explain as we go…" began Renamon but she was swiftly interrupted by sounds coming from the dining room where the party was being held. It was Kazu, and he was jogging towards the kitchen at a brisk pace.

"Hey! Chumley! Ryan and Chris's digivices are going bonkers, and Leomon's outside with Jeri saying that we all gotta get in gea…whoa!"

Takato, Rika, and Renamon all looked at Kazu with quizzical expressions as the visor-wearing boy came to an abrupt halt in front of them, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as he looked at them and a queer grin tugging at the edges of his mouth.

"Something you…ah…want to tell me Chumley?"

Takato raised an eyebrow in confusion. Kazu's grin only grew wider and he pointed with one hand at the goggle-wearing boy. Following the direction of Kazu's finger, Takato found Rika's hand was still wrapped around his wrist in a vice-like grip. All of a sudden warmth and embarrassment became the dominating emotions in his mind and his urgency towards the situation was almost completely forgotten in light of Kazu's observation.

"Ah! I-It's not like that!"

"You sure? 'Cause…"

"Oh for goodness sake!" Exclaimed Rika angrily as she let go of Takato's wrist and stormed forwards, her face taking on a red discoloration. "We _don't_ have time for your warped and twisted mind imagining things Kazu! We have to take care of that digital field!"

"You got it," chuckled Kazu as he cautiously stepped away from the fuming red headed Tamer, all but wilting under the heavy glare that she was giving him as she passed by him. Renamon shook her head in exasperation, wondering just how it was that human children could change gears so quickly even with the threat of battle ahead of them before vanishing from sight. Takato and Kazu exchanged glances. No words were exchanged between them right away. Instead Kazu merely snickered and winked at Takato, giving him the thumbs up. Takato in his turn glowered at the boy.

"You really can be demented sometimes you know that, Kazu?"

"Yeah, I know. Keeps things interesting though, doesn't it?"

Takato groaned.

* * *

The Tamers made their way out the front door of Jeri's home, each of them scanning the horizon for their quarry before finally sighting on it. Or rather, Rika did first and the rest simply followed her direction.

"There!"

"Sheesh," said Kazu, placing his hands on his hips and giving a rather disgusted look at the digital field. "Why do things like that always have to interrupt stuff like this?"

"Who cares?" Said Rika as she brought out her D-Arc and held it above her head. Renamon appeared next to her, preparing for the oncoming biomerge. "Let's just go and take care of this thing already!"

The others nodded in agreement. Takato prepared to follow his friend's example while Ryan and Chris raised their digivices to digivolve their partners. Kazu was already climbing on top of Guardromon's shoulder and Jeri did likewise.

**"Biomerge Activate!"** Shouted Rika as a familiar blue aura surrounded her digivice and burst outwards. A comforting warmth followed by a feeling of incredible strength flowed through her limbs, making her body tingle as she felt herself being merged with Renamon…

Suddenly Rika's digivice sparked and the light died down, startling the girl and interrupting Takato just as soon as the word _biomerge_ was leaving his lips. Blinking in surprise Takato turned to Rika, getting ready to ask her if everything was all right when light once more flared on the screen of Rika's D-Arc, this time a much darker blue then what Takato and the others remembered. A cold, computer voice spoke from Rika's digivice as the light surrounded the Tamer and her partner.

**B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N M-A-N-I-F-E-S-T-A-T-I-O-N P-R-O-G-R-A-M A-C-T-I-V-A-T-E-D**

The next thing that Takato and the others heard was Rika's scream of surprise as the light enveloped her and Renamon. The light intensified, forcing everyone to look away lest they be blinded.

"RENAMON! BIOMERGE TOOO…!"

The light flared once and began to die down. Takato cracked open his eyes, risking a look to see what it was that had just happened. A cold feeling made its way into his heart. Something had just gone wrong. _Very_ wrong. Digivices didn't normally act like that during a biomerge.

_Manifest Program Activated? What's that?_ Wondered Takato as the light continued to die down well past tolerable levels, revealing a form that was quite familiar to him. _At least Sakuyamon looks all righ…hold on._ Takato frowned and he looked closer. _That's not Sakuyamon…who, or __**what**__ is that?_

The new figure turned towards them, and the Tamers backed up cautiously. It looked like Sakuyamon. It was almost identical in appearance in fact. The only major differences being was the coloring of her armor, outfit, and staff. Silver where gold should be, and deep blue in place of purple.

The cold feeling that Takato had experienced earlier suddenly intensified as the figure announced its name to them, completing its digivolution.

_"…Kuzuhamon."

* * *

_

10


	28. Manifest

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 27/ Manifest

_It was almost time now. The gateway, those artificial products that enabled easy movement between the various worlds and dimensions that were connected to each other via the Great Tree, despite having been blocked off at first had still been fully functional. He had followed the spore of the Mjolner digivices for some time now after having been made aware of them by a surprisingly chance encounter by one of his servants in the digital world's desert. Two key fragments to the greater piece of the puzzle, and the hope of many for the future and for survival, held in the hands of two witless, human children who didn't have a clue as to the nature of the power that they now possessed. Limited? Yes, but that was due to their fragmentation from the greater whole, and it would take some time to piece them all together. Certain…events had seen to that, and had insured increased difficulty in repeating the process by which the Mjolner code had been made. But that was neither here nor there right now. For the time being, the trail of these two particular pieces of the Mjolner code have been tracked down to this world, and this time there would be no escape for them._

_It was rather peculiar that they had evaded capture for as long as they had, even in the face of odds that should have overwhelmed them, and the Keepers of the Mjolners had gained allies along the way as well. The digimon, the Centaur, the Guardian, and now…those __**Tamers**__. It was perplexing. Enough to say that is that one might wonder if the Fates had had a hand in the string of luck that had been aiding those two humans lately. Of course, as with all things, luck would dry out sooner or later, fates or no fates. The final Manifestation would occur, but who was able to claim creations sweet embrace or that of oblivion and be able to design the new world order depended entirely on who was able to move the fastest and who was aligned with who._

_The portals exit drew nearer, and with it the Mjolners. It was almost time now…

* * *

_

Henry placed the phone back on its hook and stepped out of the phone booth before looking at his little sister and their two digimon partners, Lopmon and Terriermon. Terriermon stood across from Henry with his tiny arms folded over his chest and his eyes set in a frown as though he were attempting to imitate Rika. Given his rather diminutive size and comical appearance this didn't work so well as one would think, but then that was just Terriermon being Terriermon, and right now imitation was not what he was trying to do.

"No luck, huh?" The long eared, white and green furred dog-bunny asked, though from the way that Terriermon sounded it was more like a statement of the obvious rather then an actual question. Henry shook his head.

"No luck. I haven't been able to get in touch with Dad, Hypnos, or any of the others ever since you and Lopmon first noticed that digital zone." Henry frowned and looked up at the sky. "It's quite possible that its digital nature is disrupting the technology in the area…"

"Disrupting it enough where even your fancy piece of plastic wasn't able to pick it up?" Asked Terriermon rather pointedly. "I'm finding it increasingly weird that those things haven't been much help this past week."

"You and me both," said Henry nodding. "But we can't worry about that now."

"Henwy?" Asked Suzie tugging on her older brother's vest. "What do we do if we can't reach the others?"

Henry looked down at his little sister and his expression softened.

"Well Suzie, we don't really have much choice except to investigate this ourselves and hope that the others have picked up on it by now…"

"Given how Ryan and Chris's digivices tend to work a lot better then your guys' that doesn't seem to far fetched," piped in Terriermon. Henry ignored him, while Suzie clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Yay! I get to go with you and Tewwiewmon this time!"

Henry frowned and his tone hardened.

"No, Suzie. This kind of thing is much too dangerous for you at your age." Henry's face became gentle as he saw Suzie become crestfallen at his stern decision. "Look, I know that you're a Tamer too and that you want to help, but you know how worried Mom and Dad get whenever I go out to help handle a wild digimon, Mom especially. She worries a lot, and she would be upset if something happened to you…"

"B-But I have you and Tewwiewmon and Lopmon here to pwotect me…" began Suzie, only to be interrupted by Terriermon this time.

"Yeah, but what if whatever's coming to the real world is really strong Suzie? Lopmon can only digivolve to Antylamon…no offense…and if Henry has to worry about keeping you safe from harm he might not be able to be at his best if he has to fight it."

Henry turned towards Terriermon, his eyes somewhat wide with surprise, and he cocked an eyebrow at the little dog-bunny.

"Isn't this where you try and override my family sense of protectiveness and say that she has to fight sooner or later?"

"You've been watching too much TV if you think that Henry. Sure, I think that she'll do good on her own. I mean after all, she and Antylamon _did_ do their fair share of butt kicking during the D-Reaper invasion, not too mention that she was all right after you left her alone at the train station during the Parasimon incident…"

Henry frowned. He hated being reminded of that, but there just wasn't enough time to take Suzie home personally when there was a digimon problem to take care of, and he didn't want to take her with him if things became even more dangerous then they looked on the news report. The best that he could do was buy her a train ticket for her to use and hope for the best. He had certainly heard about it from his mother when she heard about it later on, though he had berated himself enough for that even before then. He didn't want to make the same mistake this time, but…what was he going to do?

_This really isn't the best of timings is it?_ Wondered Henry sarcastically.

"Okay then," said Henry, interrupting Terriermon in the middle of his ramblings. "This is what we're going to do. Suzie, you're coming, but I want you to stay close to me. Terriermon will digivolve to Rapidmon and we'll monitor his progress with my digivice."

"What about me?" Asked Lopmon. Henry hesitated for a brief moment contemplating whether or not he should have Lopmon remain behind so that Suzie could have ample protection in case he himself wasn't enough against anything that decided to aim for her be it digimon or human, but previous experience from this past week suggested that Rapidmon was likely going to need assistance in this battle, and without biomerging or having any of the others handy (on the off chance that none of their digivices detected the breach between the worlds like his hadn't), even with all of Rapidmon's advantages in speed and power he was still only one against an unknown.

"You'll be backing Rapidmon as Antyllamon," said Henry finally, a small smile growing on his face that belied how he was really feeling on the inside. "And try to make sure that he doesn't do anything that's over his head…"

"Oh sure!" Exclaimed Terriermon a little heatedly. "As if I _ever_ do that!"

"Says the digimon who fought a Sovereign even when he knew that he was badly injured…"

"That was just a…uh… ploy Henry, to get us to biomerge. Takatomon wasn't figuring it out fast enough the second time around and Rika and Taomon were a little preoccupied with keeping you guys from being roasted."

"Right," said Henry, feeling a little bit of his nerves fall away from him from Terriermon's joking, but only a little bit. "Anyway. Are you ready?"

"Anytime! Anywhere!"

Henry pulled out a card from his pants pocket, a familiar blue color already materializing on it before he even got around to raising it to his digivice's card scanning slot. Similarly, Suzie held up her own pink trimmed digivice and a white light began to emerge from its screen.

"Then let's go! DIGI-MODIFY! MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

Sparks flashed and light suddenly burst forth, illuminating the area around the two children as their two, long eared partners were surrounded by a sphere of data and began to grow.

* * *

_Somehow…this doesn't look good,_ thought Takato as he took in the blue and silver garbed form that was completely different from, yet disturbingly similar to Rika and Renamon's _regular_ biomerged form of Sakuyamon. The Mega level shaman that had identified herself as _Kuzuhamon_ after biomerging returned his look in a way that made Takato feel strangely nervous. He supposed that he had every reason to be. After all, this _was_ a sudden alteration to the form that Rika and Renamon took when biomerging, yet somehow, for a reason that Takato couldn't even begin to understand, when Rika and Renamon biomerged they wound up digivolving into…well, as stated…something else. And with darker colorings and a cold looking appearance that did not at all fit the Rika and Renamon that he knew. 

_Well, except maybe Renamon, _thought Takato sarcastically remembering how unnerving the vulpine digimon could be even when she wasn't trying to be, but after a quick moment of reconsideration he came to the conclusion that not even Renamon could be like this. This…_Kuzuhamon_ was looking at him as though he were more of a thing rather then a person, and even when they were at their worst Rika and Renamon hadn't given him such a cold, empty stare. Or maybe that was because the fox mask obscured her abnormally pale features.

Had Takato been just a bit more observant and less caring about the well being of his two friends that were now joined in the tall shaman digimon, he probably would have wondered why it was that Kuzuhamon was focusing on him, and solely him. However, it could easily be said that he had more important things on his mind.

"Rika?" Asked Takato as he took a step forwards. "Renamon? Wha…? Are you two all ri…?"

Takato didn't get a moment to finish his sentence. Kuzuhamon, her voice strangely different from the mixed tones of Renamon and Rika that he was used to overrode his questions. As she spoke, Takato noted that Kuzuhamon sounded rather mature, if not distant, with a voice befitting an older woman closer to his mother's age then the teenage girl who had fought by his side this past year. Takato found himself feeling all the more disturbed by that, and what she had to say really didn't do anything to make him feel better. And her voice…it sounded as empty as the desert that he and his friends came across when they first entered the digital world.

_What the…? What the heck happened to them? _

"The Dark One descends upon this world," Kuzuhamon intoned, her voice taking on all the harsh edge of a cold winter's wind. "He has come, searching for the Heart of the Dreamer so that he can remake the world in his image…"

The rings on her silver vajra staff jingled as Kuzuhamon took a step towards the Tamers.

"…This I _cannot _allow…"

"Hey Rika?" Called out Kazu from his place next to Guardromon. "You want to clue us in on what's going on all of a sudden? You're starting to creep us out…"

"That's not Rika," said Leomon as he took a step forwards, positioning himself in front of Jeri protectively.

"Huh?" Kazu cocked an eyebrow at the lion warrior, honestly befuddled. "What're you talking about? Of course that's Rika! Where've you been dude? We all saw her biomerge with Renamon…"

"That is _not_ Rika, Kazu Shioda," growled Leomon as he let one hand drift towards his sheathed sword. "Look at her stance, the way that she sounds and carries herself! Say what you believe, but whatever happened when Rika and Renamon biomerged, that creature is not the resulting union of those two partners! Or have you forgotten that something happened to Rika's digivice before Kuzuhamon appeared?"

"He does have a point Kazu," said Kenta. Takato looked over Kuzuhamon before nodding himself in agreement. Voice aside, there was definitely something more that was off about Kuzuhamon then just looks. He had fought along side Rika and Renamon, both merged and apart, more then enough times to be able to recognize their patterns in the way that they went about their daily business on and off the battlefield. But…a small voice inside of him whispered if…_possession_ (as it appeared to be) was the case.

_Dark Biomerge?_ Wondered Takato as he furrowed his eyebrows, remembering the expression on Rika's face followed by her change of mood before Renamon had arrived to inform them about the digital portal. But then…she also claimed to have _sensed_ something…and then there was how she was acting _now_. Takato shook his head as his thoughts began to tangle themselves in confusion. He didn't know what he was supposed to believe, and _Rika_ wasn't talking.

_Rika…_ thought Takato, feeling a mixture of confusion, frustration, worry, and sadness for his friend. Worry standing out most prominently…

"Rika?" Asked Jeri tentatively as she now stepped out from behind Leomon and towards the female shaman priestess, hoping that she could somehow reach her friend despite what she was hearing. It just seemed too bizarre to believe that Rika and Renamon were…_possessed_, as that was how Leomon was making it sound. The way that her friend was acting and the fact that she had transformed into this pale reflection of her normal Mega form certainly told her that something was definitely not right. Concern welling up in her heart Jeri raised a hand towards the dark priestess. She wanted to try and get to the bottom of this but Leomon, picking up on her movement once more placed himself directly between the two.

"No Jeri."

"But…"

"Jeri. Whatever this being is, it could be dangerous, and I have sworn to protect you with my last breath…"

"You would do well to heed the advice of your _partner_, Katou-san," said Kuzuhamon coolly as she continued to walk towards the Tamers. "After all, he knows better then all of you how dangerous one such as I, or the being that even now prepares to enter this world. He has seen beings like us in action before, even if he doesn't recall it…"

Jeri's eyes widened in surprise at that.

"W-What do you mean?"

"_That_ is not your concern at the moment," continued Kuzuhamon as she continued to approach the Tamers. The children and their digimon, with the exception of Takato, Guilmon, Jeri, and Leomon began to cautiously edge away from her, unsure as they were about what she was going to do. Takato frowned and shook his head angrily.

"What have you done with Rika?" Takato demanded hotly as he clenched his fists together tightly. For the first time Kuzuhamon's expression changed, becoming more of a cold smile that was almost completely void of emotion. _Almost._

"Concerned about her aren't we, _Dreamer_? I suppose you would be given the link that you and her share. No need to fret. Your princess and her partner haven't been harmed. I'm just borrowing their combined form until I'm able to rebuild my own after she so callously destroyed my old one during our first encounter while she was protecting you."

_Dreamer?_ Blinked Takato bewilderedly, trying to find some sense of coherency to his thoughts with the sheer amount of information and emotions that he was being bombarded with._ Link? First encounter? Wha…?_

While the Tamers were left trying to figure out that bit of information all the while still reeling from the knowledge that Rika was suddenly…_not_ in possession of her own faculties (although with Kazu, he would have taken it to mean that she had gone insane), Chris's eyes narrowed as certain things that _Kuzuhamon_ said began to click in his mind. For some strange reason, when he had heard the dark shamaness speaking, he had been overcome by a feeling of _familiarity_ and déjà vu. It was as if he had heard Kuzuhamon's voice before but for the life of him he couldn't quite explain the _where_ or _how_ of it. That is, until she had mentioned _'their __**first**__ encounter'._ Now Chris knew that he wasn't aware of the totality of the adventures that the Tamers had had since knowing them, and he sure hadn't been there for any of them outside from what he had experienced this past week, but from what he did know, and from what he experienced, he had a sudden, sneaking suspicion as to what was going on.

"_You're the red Sakuyamon!"_ Chris exclaimed loudly, pointing a finger at Kuzuhamon. Takato's eyes flew wide as he suddenly remembered his battle with the crimson-garbed shaman warrior. He had heard her voice quite clearly that day, and after seeing her defeat his friends the way that she had he was rather surprised that he hadn't remembered sooner.

"He's right," whispered Takato as his hand snaked behind him and brought out his gold trimmed digivice, his expression hardening in a second. Next to him, Guilmon crouched down and began growling, his pupils dilating as his viral instincts took hold.

"What?" Exclaimed Kazu, surprise plainly evident in his voice. He was about to say something more on the matter but then Kuzuhamon suddenly reached out and knocked Takato's D-Arc out of his hand and promptly hauled him up from off the ground. Guilmon reacted instantly, his instincts overriding his concern about possibly hurting his comrades. Leaping at Kuzuhamon, Guilmon's claws began to glow with a fiery aura as he prepared his _Rock Breaker _attack…

…Only to be knocked aside viciously by a well timed blow from the shaman's silver staff.

Guilmon's attack wasn't the only one that had to be repelled. Leomon was on her within seconds after Guilmon had been dispatched, his sword already out and the flat end of the blade swinging towards the demon woman's head. Leaping backwards, Kuzuhamon dodged the blade before leaping up into the air, Takato still held tightly within her grasp. Despite his best efforts to escape from her, Takato's strength as a human was as nothing in comparison to Kuzuhamon's. He might as well have been trying to fight a brick wall with his bare hands.

Jeri gasped as Kuzuhamon began to fly away with Takato, her mind a flurry of unspoken questions as to what was going on, what Kuzuhamon's intentions were, and why she had grabbed Takato and was making a getaway with him. Everything so far had been focused on the two, new Tamers that had arrived a week ago and now this digimon that Chris claimed to be the Red Sakuyamon (apparently in possession of Rika and Renamon) had drastically altered the perceived target to someone completely different and unexpected. Why? The word _Dreamer_ whispered through Jeri's mind like a feather on the breeze, but she soon found that she didn't have the luxury of asking questions. This digimon meant to capture Takato. She had to be stopped!

_But what about Rika and Renamon?_ Jeri's mind whispered before she dug into the pockets of her dress for her cards, hating that she didn't have the time to work that out either. The situation was rapidly racing out of control. Jeri quickly brought out her cards and began to look through them as rapidly as she could for whatever would be useful in a situation like this, but she didn't have enough time for that either. She wasn't going to make it. She wasn't going to…

Multiple bright lights burst to life beside her and a second later, two voices rang out as they shouted their evolution for all the world to hear.

"RICHOEMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO…MEGATERRADRAMON!"

"CARAMON! DIGIVOLVE TOOO…METALDRACARAMON!"

A massive orange colored, humanoid dragon with wings and twin, fang-like, metal blades fixed to his forearms along with a quadruped, cyborg looking reptile with twin laser cannons mounted on his shoulders leapt into the air as one, followed swiftly by Guardromon, Beelzemon Blast Mode, and MarineAngemon, with Leomon racing after them on foot. MetalDracaramon flew ahead using a pair of built in jet engines on his back and placed himself above the shaman in an attempt to prevent her from gaining any more altitude then she already had. Snarling, MetalDracaramon dove down towards Kuzuhamon and slashed at her with his claws, taking as much care as he could to avoid hitting Takato (an admittedly difficult task as she now had him practically pinned against her body with just one, blue-gloved hand). Kuzuhamon gracefully dodged the attack with little to no effort before slashing with her staff and sending a stream of dark, violet energy at the mechanized digimon.

**"Womb Realm Mandala!" **

MetalDracaramon screamed in pain as the energy wave crashed into him, knocking him to the side. His distraction, however brief, fortunately had given the other digimon the time that they needed to catch up.

WHAM!

Guardromon, aided by the effects of a high speed card slammed into Kuzuhamon, the force of the blow dislodging Kuzuhamon's grip on Takato just enough for the goggle-wearing boy to force his way free and grab onto Guardromon. With a speed and care that almost seemed to defy the way that Guardromon was built, the android grabbed hold of Takato and with a move that spoke of almost well practiced ease tossed him behind him and into a waiting heart bubble courtesy of MarineAngemon.

"Fear not Takato…!" Began Guardromon, only to be interrupted by the enraged cry of Kuzuhamon.

_"You…__**IDIOT!**__"_ Guardromon turned around and his mechanical eyes bulged comically in their sockets as Kuzuhamon slammed a fist home into Guardromon's face with enough force to send the heavily armored android spinning in the air and off to the side. _"Do you __**know**__ what Ahuramon will __**do**__ to him if he finds out that he's __**HERE?!?!"**_

The sound of electricity sparking and something mechanical separating caught Kuzuhamon's attention.

"You know," began Beelzemon as he powered up his Death Slinger cannon and aimed it at Kuzuhamon while behind him MarineAngemon negotiated his heart bubble with Takato inside down to the ground. "Instead of attacking us, possessing one of us, and out and out trying to _kidnap_ one of us, you could have tried answering our questions…"

"There…is…_no…__**TIME!"**_Kuzuhamon roared as she slashed her staff to one side. **"Ura Izuna!"**

Suddenly a white, flaming fox materialized from behind Kuzuhamon and lunged at Beelzemon, brushing off the _Corona Blaster_ attack that he fired at the fox spirit with almost contemptuous ease before slamming into the Demon Lord. As Beelzemon grappled with the fox spirit, Kuzuhamon was immediately faced with yet another opponent, this time in the form of dragonic MegaTerradrmon as he flew in close, his right fist drawn back and glowing with an orange aura. Seeing this, Kuzuhamon swiftly defended against the oncoming attack with her staff, only to be caught off guard as she realized that the first blow had been a feint, and a second one quickly flew into her solar plexus, knocking the wind from her lungs. Not to be outdone, Kuzuhamon flipped backwards in mid air and brought her foot into contact with MegaTerradramon's chin before once more slashing her staff to the side, this time summoning a storm of black, crystal shards.

**"Obsidian Rain!"** Kuzuhamon shouted as the crystal shards were thrown towards MegaTerradramon on a gale force wind. MegaTerradramon was too close to the attack to be able to dodge or even defend effectively, and he cried out in pain as he felt his data being torn from his body. He knew that the attack wasn't meant to kill him. Given the vast power difference between himself and Kuzuhamon, not to mention the distance from which the attack was being launched, he had a feeling that he _should_ have been dead, but for some reason Kuzuhamon had held back. Something that he was presently grateful for. Growling in anger, MegaTerradramon flapped his battered wings and flew upwards, dodging the remainder of the attack.

**"Laser Discharge!"**

And simultaneously, allowing MetalDracaramon to follow up with an attack of his own.

Green colored bursts of energy bounced deftly off the _Obsydian Sphere_ that Kuzuhamon had raised against it. Like she had even needed it, given that MetalDracaramon had fired his attack at a low level intensity due to his worry about harming Rika and Renamon, but it was a prudent choice. A choice that made a whole lot more sense when the said shield began radiating outwards and slammed into both Ultimates, eliciting grunts and cries of pain and surprise from both combatants.

_This isn't going well…_thought MetalDracaramon ludicrously.

* * *

**Kuzuhamon**

**Stage: Mega**

**Type: Data**

**Special Attacks: Womb Realm Mandala, Ura Izuna, Obsidian Rain, Obsidian Sphere**

**-Manifestation Detected-**

"This isn't going well…" remarked Ryan sarcastically as he looked up from the halo circle that hovered above his digivice. "We're not going to win this one going easy on her, and as much as I hate to say it I don't see _how_ we can help Rika without hurting her in the process. Most of us here aren't even on her level!"

Ryan looked at the other Tamers, hoping that they at least had some kind of plan, or perhaps some kind of trick that they could use to put an end to this battle without harming their friend, but so far he was drawing complete blanks from the ones that were gathered here. Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta were busy looking through their cards, searching for something, _anything_ that could be used to restrain their friend, but judging from the looks on their faces things weren't going well for them on that front either. Looking up, Ryan saw MarineAngemon floating over with his heart bubble, bearing Takato inside. Once the Goggle-wearing Tamer was of appropriate distance to the ground, the bubble popped and deposited him back with his friends. Takato was about to say something when he was immediately tackled by Guilmon.

"Aaaah! Guilmon! This _really_ is not the time for that!"

"Well, at least we know that he's not down like Guardromon," said Kazu, indicating his disabled partner behind him. The iron-armored digimon had a massive dent in his front armor just below his eyes and he was presently making groaning sounds, all the while striving to get to his feet. Ryan knew that he wasn't going to be standing any time soon. The digimon's initial damage report to Kazu mentioned something about his stabilizers and some gyros being damaged, and while Ryan didn't know what those were precisely he did get the idea that they were important.

"Okay," began Chris as Takato climbed back to his feet and reclaimed his D-Arc from Jeri, who had picked it up after the fight began swinging into full gear. "We're in something of a fix here. Kuzuhamon's out there mopping the floor with MegaTerradramon and MetalDracaramon, and Beelzemon and Leomon are presently occupied with keeping that fox spirit from mauling them. Given the amount of effort that they're both putting into that I don't think that we can expect any help from them anytime in the near future…"

"What about Rika?" Asked Jeri. "I mean, I know that we now have to fight her, but is there any way that we can get her to stop herself…or rather stop whoever it is that's controlling her?"

Takato looked up at the battle, and he clenched his hands into fists as Kuzuhamon sent a flurry of crystal shards flying towards the two Ultimates that were fighting her. Words flashed through his mind, bringing forth recollections from his memories of what Kuzuhamon had said to him…

"_What have you done with Rika?" Takato demanded hotly as he clenched his fists together tightly. For the first time Kuzuhamon's expression changed, becoming more of a cold smile that was almost completely void of emotion. Almost._

_"Concerned about her aren't we, Dreamer? I suppose you would be given the link that you and her share. No need to fret. Your princess and her partner haven't been harmed. I'm just borrowing their combined form until I'm able to rebuild my own after she so callously destroyed my old one during our first encounter while she was protecting you."_

_Dreamer…link…_

Takato frowned, not quite hearing what Chris was saying about Kuzuhamon and the deific _Kuzunoha_ of Japanese folklore that Rika had told them about after she had been shocked by the blonde haired boy's digivice.

"I'll face her."

The others turned to him, though none could say that they were at all surprised by this. Takato and Guilmon were the only ones left who could digivolve to Mega, plus Gallantmon was a Virus type (and a heavily armored one too) giving him type advantage. Never mind the fact that Takato, being the sort of person that he was, refused to sit on the sidelines when a friend was in danger. But this time, the only thing that gave them pause was the recollection that Takato had been the main target of Kuzuhamon upon her appearance. Takato could see it in their eyes, even though none of them were willing to say it.

"Look, I know that she went after me. I don't know why she did, and even if going up there to fight Kuzuhamon is what she wants, I'm the only one who can handle her at the moment. Besides, Rika's my friend…_our _friend, and if there's anything that I can do to help her…to _reach _her, then I'll do whatever it takes to do that."

Takato blinked his eyes as an image of Rika, possessed by Parasimon flashed across his vision.

_The situation is almost the same here,_ thought Takato as he gripped his digivice. _Why does something like this keep happening to my friends? First Jeri…and now… Rika…_

Jeri looked at Takato with a thoughtful expression on her face, remembering how Takato was whenever a friend was in danger. Each time he had reached, _struggled_ for something that was seemingly impossible, and surmounted the odds no matter how difficult they were. He had emerged from the shadow of Leomon's death and the creation of Megidramon, reborn as the Exalted Knight known as Gallantmon. He had helped bring Grani into the real world when D-Reaper pushed him and his friends to the wall, and later transformed into his Crimson Mode during the last battle with D-Reaper. She hadn't seen it then, as she had been unconscious at the time, but she definitely saw it on the news during Rika's birthday when he Mode Changed the second time and wiped out the Parasimon army. Something about it seemed to Jeri as the ultimate expression of how Takato was, and how nothing seemed to be out of his reach. If anyone could reach Rika and help her when Renamon was around, Takato would. He seemed to have that gift of making miracles when all hope seemed lost.

As Jeri thought about this, the memory of Kuzuhamon calling Takato _the Dreamer_ came to mind, followed by her claim that Takato and Rika were somehow _linked._ She didn't know what Kuzuhamon meant, but all of a sudden, intuition flared in Jeri's mind, and she knew that what Takato intended was the _right _thing. Perhaps the _only_ right thing.

Softly clasping her hand over Takato's, the one that held his digivice, Jeri looked into the boy's crimson eyes. Takato, somewhat startled (and a bit embarrassed) by the act, met Jeri's gaze, his cheeks taking on a dull, red color to them as the corners of the girl's mouth drew up into a smile.

"If you believe that you can do it Takato," said Jeri in a soft, calm voice. "Then I _know_ that you can do it. If anyone can, it's you."

Takato gasped softly as Jeri squeezed his hand before withdrawing. Nodding to the girl, Takato looked over at Guilmon.

"You ready boy?"

"Yeah!" Guilmon exclaimed and together the two friends turned and ran in the direction of the battle. Light burst forth from the gold trimmed digivice as Takato brought it over his head, shouting a fearsome battle cry as the light enveloped both himself and Guilmon, merging them together in one, blinding burst of power.

**"BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"**

**

* * *

**

A/N: The attacks _Obsidian Rain_ and _Obsidian Sphere_ are of course my own additions to Kuzuhamon (unless someone else can claim ownership of them), as I thought that she needed something a little bit more in her arsenal, and Digimon Wiki and the DMA Digi-Dex don't give very good descriptions on all her attacks (which aren't as numerous as Sakuyamon's). 'Till next time then. Later.

-Crazyeight

* * *

12 


	29. Dusk

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 28/ Dusk

Rapidmon flew towards the hole that had appeared in the sky while behind him Antylamon followed closely, bounding from rooftop to rooftop with an ease that an Olympic gymnast would have admired and been supremely jealous of.

_"Anything Rapidmon?"_ Spoke up Henry's voice in Rapidmon's mind. Even though the boy wasn't there with him, they were still able to communicate via the link that they shared through the digivice, something that Suzie (much to Henry's astonishment) had picked up on during the D-Reaper invasion and had neglected to share with the rest of the team (her excuse had been that she thought that they had already known about it, being that they were the most _experienced_ as Tamers). Surprises aside, it turned out to work very well to their advantage, though Henry wished that he was by Rapidmon's side to help him in this fight. It just didn't feel the same without being on the frontlines with his best friend and partner.

"Nothing out of the ordinary other then that the sky's been ripped open again. I tell ya Henry, between the digital world and Yamaki's Juggernaut, we're not exactly doing the Ozone Layer any favors here."

_"Terriermon…we've kind of got something important going on here. Could you quit clowning around already? This is serious!"_

"And Global Warming isn't? C'mon Henry! We live on an isla…WHOA!" Rapidmon suddenly drew up short as he noticed something going on with the portal. The dark clouds that had been rotating around it had suddenly increased their pace, and lightning began crackling at the edges of its event horizon.

_"Rapidmon? What is it?"_ Asked Henry, starting to sound a bit agitated on his end of things, his limited perspective and reliance on Rapidmon to be his eyes and ears frustrating him. _"What's going on?"_

"Take a look yourself through the partner cam," quipped Rapidmon as electric lines surged around his eyes, feeding the incoming visual data that he was receiving into Henry's digivice for him to view. As they watched, a dark shadow of the deepest black began to descend into the streets of Shinjuku, pouring from the portal as though it were made of liquid before finally settling into a shape that brought to Henry and Rapidmon's minds memories of the cable D-Reaper that emerged from the digital world during the final battle with the out of control program. Its design was simple, with little features beyond a dark mass of ceaselessly flowing shadow, resembling in some ways a dark colored cloak. The form surged upwards, taking in its surroundings as its body began to radiate a dark cloud that sucked in and smothered all light around it, blanketing the area around it with an impenetrable darkness that continuously crept forward and shrouded everything that it touched.

As Henry watched, he felt a cold chill rake through his body, causing him to shudder slightly. Revulsion crept through him and Henry grabbed hold of his sister and held her to him protectively. He couldn't recall ever feeling like this except perhaps when he had confronted the D-Reaper and its agents. Every instinct that he had told him that there was no hope of reasoning with this entity. You either ran…or you fought.

"H-H-Henwy?" Said Suzie, her body shaking as she clung tightly to him and her voice tattering as she spoke. "I'm scawed…"

_Me too Suzie,_ thought Henry, surprised at the honesty that his emotions held. _Me too…

* * *

_

Leomon roared as he was once more pinned beneath the burning, white fox spirit that Kuzuhamon had summoned and set upon them, his sword was raised in one hand, clasped between the jaws of the fox as it towered over him, growling while his other hand grappled with the beast's neck. Leomon gritted in pain as the flames licked at his body, especially his hand but he fought against it. It hurt and his body screamed to let go of the beast, but with the alternative to pain literally staring at him in the face he held on for dear life as he struggled to throw the monster off of him. After all, his survival depended on his not letting go of the fox spirit.

**"Corona Blaster!"**

Leomon grunted as the fox spirit was forced off of him with a powerful blast courtesy of Beelzemon and his Death Slinger cannon. Taking advantage of his reprieve Leomon rolled to the side, trying to gain as much distance as he could so that he could recuperate from the fox's attack. The beast wasn't quite so willing to give him that break however, and despite the fact that it's side was still smoking from Beelzemon's blast, it was once more after him, slamming its claws down almost as rapidly as Leomon was getting away. Snarling, Leomon quickly changed tactics, reorienting his blade that was still gripped in his hand so that he could stab at the fox spirit as it came at him again, and follow it up with a…

**"Fist of the Beast King!"**

Before Leomon could so much as follow through with his plan of attack, a burning, lion shaped apparition slammed into the fox spirit, knocking it backwards at the precise moment that Leomon rolled forwards. Not in the least bit deterred by this, Leomon leapt back to his feet and charged forwards, slashing at the fox spirit with his sword, catching it off guard before pulling back his fist. Orange fire swam around it and with a burning ire in his azure eyes Leomon thrust it forward, and the face of a snarling lion, the twin of what had first impacted with the fox spirit, surged forward. The fox spirit roared with pain as the attack smashed into its body, pushing it backwards and dragging it through the ground, digging up a trench and kicking up clouds of dirt and debris into the air. Leomon's eyes narrowed as he tried to see through the dirt cloud, but so far the only thing that confirmed that the fiery fox spirit was still alive was a dull, white glow. Otherwise, no movement was made by the beast. Leomon gripped his sword tightly in his hand as he began to take a step forwards, and then a hand fell on his shoulder. Reacting instinctively, Leomon leapt forwards, twisting in midair as he slashed with his sword, his eyes widening as he realized too late whom it was who had _snuck up_ on him.

Beelzemon looked impassively at Leomon as he deftly dodged the attack by simply craning his neck to the side.

"A little jumpy, aren't we?" The Demon Lord chided, though his expression belied his tone. Leomon frowned and returned his attention to the dust cloud in front of them. There still seemed to be no sign of their opponent beyond the glow illuminating the smoke.

"I wasn't aware that you were capable of using my attack," said Leomon, his voice a low growl. Beelzemon glowered as he got into a battle position next to the lion digimon.

"I absorbed your data back in da digital world, remember? Dat means I have access to your power," said Beelzemon, surprised by how calmly and easily he had said that. Briefly he wondered if it was because he suspected this Leomon of not being the same one that he had destroyed and absorbed so long ago, but as they were in the heat of battle with no confirmation that their opponent was out of commission he swiftly discarded the thought. Fight first, ask questions later. At least so far this Leomon had proven to be as staunch of an ally as the original had been. It was almost enough to make him believe that this being _was_ the same Leomon he had killed.

_Almost_, of course, being the operative word used here.

"I even used it to help try to free Jeri from D-Reaper," continued Beelzemon. "Or did Jeri not tell you dat?"

"She told me that you helped," growled Leomon, unsure what to think of the Demon Lord using his attacks in conjunction with his own. "She didn't give me any details since she introduced me to you. As you can imagine, she has been occupied of late…"

Leomon was interrupted by a fearsome growling, and the cloud of dust and smoke was torn apart by the form of the fox spirit as it rushed towards them, leaping through the air. Growling in irritation, Beelzemon flapped his wings and pushed off the ground, while Leomon leapt backwards. This _entity_ had so far proven to be far more resilient then they had expected, and had taken almost all of their attacks and still came at them. Because of this, the two digimon had been steadily retreating towards the area of Shinjuku Park where they would be able to conduct their battle with the fox far more easily then they would on the streets of Jeri's home, especially since the clamor of their battle was awakening just about everyone who lived nearby. Leaping skyward, Leomon once more dodged another attack from the fox spirit while Beelzemon laid in with a _Double Impact_ attack, the bullets doing little to deter the growling ghost of the forest. As Leomon began to descend towards the earth again his eye twitched as he saw what looked like a growing, black shape off in the distance.

_What was tha…?_

No sooner then Leomon had begun to crane his head to get a better view did he give a shout of surprise as the fox spirit impacted with him once more, its flaming claws digging into his shoulders as its momentum brought him crashing down to the ground. Beelzemon flew in on his great, black wings, the claws on his hands gleaming as he dismissed Death Slinger and placed his Berenjena shotgun back in its holster, as the latter had proven to be useless and the former was too much power to risk firing with Leomon beneath the beast. As he drew close, the fox smacked him with its tail, the blow quite surprisingly having enough force to throw him towards the ground where he impacted into a parked car. Sirens blared to life as metal twisted and glass shattered to accommodate his speeding body as best as they could.

_Dis __**really**__ isn't going well…_

Leomon roared as he struggled against the fox spirit, but its strength was proving to be far more then he could handle on his own. He could feel energy coursing through him as Jeri, who was presently monitoring his battle through her digivice, slashed cards in a desperate bid to aid him, but strain as much as he could, the beast refused to budge so much as an inch. It began to lower its face towards him, its maw opening, revealing fangs that burned and crackled with fiery life, promising swift death for him, and afterwards Beelzemon for their belief that they could actually defeat it and its mistress in battle. Memories from his last battle with Beelzemon in the digital world flashed through his mind as he recalled the last time that he had been in this position, his thoughts…

_Perhaps…this is my destiny…_

…And the horror-stricken expression on Jeri's face as she faded from his vision, and the world around him darkened, shattered by the girl's scream as he felt himself disappear entirely. Such pain and loss as none should ever experience…

"LEOMON!" Leomon started as he heard Jeri shouting his name. He could hear her thoughts, the panic in her voice, and the familiar sound of her feet pounding against the ground as she raced towards him…_all in his mind_! The monster's fangs were only inches from his face, and Jeri was _running_ towards him! The first thing that she was going to see when she got there…! No…_no!_ He could not…_would not_…allow that to come to pass! Not when he had just come back! Not when so much danger had arrived, threatening everything around him, and especially Jeri! Letting loose a great and mighty roar, Leomon's body burst with a blindingly white light and he felt his body begin to transform as he writhed upon the ground. The light intensified around his body as a torrent of power surged through his limbs and then exploded outwards as great wings tore their way out of his back, forcing the fox spirit off of him and dispersing its fiery body to the winds, snuffing out its flames with ease.

Still growling, Leomon got to his feet, only to stumble forwards to his knees as the relentless waves of power washed over his body. Digging into the ground beneath him and clenching his teeth, Leomon fought against the sudden and unexpected surge of power that was forcing its way up from the very depths of his body. He…he didn't know what it was, but at the same time he felt as though he _should._ This wasn't the force of digivolution though. He had experienced it before, and while he imagined that digivolving to Ultimate would feel as different as digivolving to Champion had been to his Rookie stage, this…_wasn't_ it. It felt as though there was something else in him. Something that was striving to _awaken_ within him…rise to the surface and swallow him whole.

The light that engulfed him began to grow even brighter…

* * *

Chris looked down at his digivice, eyes wide with shock as its function had transformed into a series of agitated clicks and beeps that only grew as the seconds ticked by. Something was going on, that much was certain, and whatever that _something_ was it was interfering with the normal functions of the digivice. All detection functions, anayzer programs, and visuals that they normally had were instead replaced by one halo circle hovering above the screens of both Chris's and Ryan's digivices, with the words **Manifestation Detected** flashing relentlessly. No reason was given, nor was there any explanation made as to what this _Manifestation_ was, even though the word had cropped up a couple times during their adventures in the digital world and again when Kuzuhamon appeared. It was just there, flashing in the halo circle as though it were some kind of warning and…

Chris frowned as he tried to mentally command the digivice to turn off the warning function. Things had just seemed to go down the deep end ever since they picked up on that breach between the worlds (once again, something that only _their_ digivices, nicknamed the _Mjolners_ by an invading Gargomon), and they had yet to even try and resolve _that_! No sooner then they had gotten ready to deal with whatever digimon was preparing to breach, things went wrong right away starting with Rika's attempt to biomerge with her partner. It had gone right one could say, in the academic sense at least. If one kept their definition of a biomerge down to its most basic core, then yes, Rika and Renamon had been successful in that regard (though the strange spark garnered from her digivice wasn't all too comforting), however once one expanded it to include certain forms that a Tamer and their digimon partner digivolved to (which was usually form specific, and based solely on the nature of the partners involved in the joining) then it could easily be said that yes, something had gone wrong, and this was given further evidence by the fact that Rika and Renamon…no, _Kuzuhamon…_had attacked the…

A light bulb suddenly seemed to click on in Chris's mind. Earlier, when he had been analyzing Kuzuhamon's stats he had noted some interesting information in her digital profile that mentioned that her name was derived from a mythological figure in Japanese culture by the name of _Kuzunoha_, a white furred, fox spirit; a kitsune to be more precise. And what was more…

_When Rika had been shocked by my digivice,_ thought Chris as a sense of realization began to settle on him heavily, his eyes widening even further as he felt a jolt of electricity go off in his brain from synapses going off like bombs. _It displayed something about Kuzunoha. And now…when Rika and Renamon merged…they became a digimon whose name is __**derived**__ from __**that**__ very entity!_

_…But…what does that have to do with this __**Manifestation**__ business?_

As if in response to his question, Chris's digivice ceased with its blaring warning and the halo circle receded, only to reappear a second later, only this time with the tracking program activated. Chris furrowed his brow as the halo circle showed him a map of the surrounding city, points of light appearing on it almost immediately. His mind quickly backtracking to his time in the digital world and his and Ryan's first arrival in Shinjuku Chris recognized the white points of light to be digivice signals while blue were digimon. There were other colors that he didn't recognize but could hazard a guess as to what they were, one of which being a lighter blue dot that he recognized to be Gallantmon (as the dot on the map was in the direction that Gallantmon was moving) while two others were of a strange, orange color, and one of them was flashing between the regular blue of the digimon signal and the unknown orange tone. Cocking an eyebrow, Chris silently wished that his digivice would be a bit more informative about the information that it was presenting to him (and that it came with an instruction manual), when suddenly a familiar feel of electricity crossed his palm and the dots began to display information and statistics on them…

"LEOMON!"

"GAH!" Startled by Jeri's sudden and unexpected cry, Chris fumbled with his grip on his digivice and dropped it, the halo circle winking out as it clattered on the ground.

"Jeri!" Exclaimed Kazu as he made a grab for the girl as she began to dash forwards, her movement so swift that all that Kazu managed to grab as Jeri picked up speed was nothing but air. "Get back! It's too dangerous out there! JERI!"

Jeri either didn't hear Kazu or she didn't care, and who could blame her? Kazu certainly couldn't, having been watching the same battle as she had through the girl's digivice and offering what tips he could on card selection, but the battle between Leomon and the fox apparition had quickly deteriorated beyond either of their abilities to cope and now Jeri was reacting with all the desperation that she had, hoping that by some miracle she could alter the battle the same way that Takato, Henry, Rika, and Ryo did by throwing themselves into the danger, _sharing_ what their partners faced everyday…

_I can understand that,_ thought Chris as he bent down and picked up his digivice, his body tensing to follow in pursuit, glancing up briefly to see how the battle of both his and Ryan's partners against Kuzuhamon was fairing, wincing when he saw MetalDracaramon get knocked out of the air and sent careening towards the ground, leaving MegaTerradramon alone to fight her until Gallantmon could join the party. Chris looked back to the retreating backs of Kazu and Kenta as they quickly gave chase to one Jeri Katou, who was presently doing the sort of sprints that gave Chris the impression that she could leave a jet airliner in the dust.

A growl of frustration from behind the blonde haired boy caught his attention, interrupting his coiled preparation to pursue the three Tamers.

"Come…_ON!!!"_ Ryan shouted as he clutched his digivice fiercely in one hand, and balled his other into a fist as he glared at the one sided fight between his partner and Kuzuhamon. Ryan turned to his digivice and called up its halo screen, desperately trying to find some way to fight Kuzuhamon and actually make it _work_! "This is insane! Takato's not even there yet, Henry's probably going toe to toe with whatever it is that's arrived here and needing our help, and we're down here while our partners are getting _clobbered!_ What's it take to get these things to do something _other_ then just digivolve our digimon?! I can't even get out of this stupid, _Manifestation_-flashing-thing!"

Chris winced; knowing full well that Ryan's incoherency in describing the strange warning that had been flashing on their digivices almost non-stop was a result of his frustration at the helplessness of their situation. He had been pursuing that line of thought earlier himself before Jeri's cry had startled him. There were times that both he and Ryan resented the role that they had been consigned to, that is to say cheering from the sidelines while their partners effectively got the stuffing beat out of them in their attempts to protect them. Not exactly the nicest position to be in even if it was safer for them. The Tamers at least were capable of helping their partners on the battlefield, _and_ were able to merge with them to bring out their maximum power, working together as a team. What did they have to help their partners?

That was just it. As far as they knew, there was nothing that they _could_ do except give their digimon partners the means to digivolve and that was it. But then…

"Well…" began Chris slowly. "Centarumon said that we weren't using these things to their full potential…"

"As it had been noted Chris," huffed Ryan in a somewhat derisive tone, his frustration showing even more clearly then before. "But _what_ is their full potential, exactly? Have we had any moment when we ever noticed anything where they did something more then just digivolve, scan, and give us our partner's eye view of a fight?"

Chris frowned.

"Well…now that I think about it, what about that time when we opened up the gateway in that temple that we used to get here? The door was closing on us when Nightmare Blitzmon interrupted us, and we managed to force it open again right before everything went downhill…and then there was the time when you merged with GrimTerradramon to turn him back to normal when that virus was corrupting him. I don't know about you, but it seems to me that that's something _more_ then what we're normally accustomed to seeing from our digivices."

Ryan closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then upon reopening them fixated his gaze on Chris.

"Okay. Yeah, you're right about all that but…I don't even know _how_ either of us pulled that stuff off. And as much as I hate to admit it, this is a bad time to start learning the abc's…"

"Actually I think that this is the perfect time to learn given that we have no other alternative. Come on…_think_. The Tamers at least have hinted to us from their stories and from the show that these things operate from our own will power. What's stopping us from using that?"

Ryan frowned.

"You have step-by-step directions on just how to do that?"

"Well, what were you thinking when Nightmare Blitzmon broke into the temple?"

Ryan closed his eyes once more as he thought back to that day from a week ago.

* * *

_There was a powerful crash and stone began to tumble to the ground. The kids turned around in surprise, the light from their digivices winking out in a second. As the dust began to settle, Ryan caught a glimpse of orange on the ground and knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was Richoemon that lay on the ground before them. And there was something standing over him. The dust cleared, revealing the smiling black and blue figure of Nightmare Blitzmon. The ultimate smiled with the knowledge of having cornered his prey and raised his arm. As if to add insult to injury he heard the sound of stone doors grinding shut, without the power of their digivices they had no reason to stay open anymore. NO! Ryan shouted in his mind as he saw Leomon and Caramon position themselves in front of Nightmare Blitzmon. NO! It can't end like this! Not when we're so close! IT CAN'T! Suddenly a light erupted from Ryan's digivice and cascaded over the room, and soon another, even brighter light joined it, obscuring Nightmare Blitzmon's look of stunned surprise. The last thing Ryan remembered before he blacked out was the sound of stone shattering.

* * *

_

"I remember being desperate," said Ryan finally. "It seemed so…_unfair._ We were so close to going home, and they just refused to leave us alone, refused to let us go and they never once gave us a reason as to why they were after us. I was angry…and when I saw our one chance at getting out of the digital world closing on us, it felt like something in me just…I don't know…_reached out_. It felt a lot like unlocking a door in a way, only…different. Like I had done it with my mind instead of with an actual key."

"So…what if all we have to do is just…um…_unlock_ these things," Chris raised his digivice to eye level and shook it lightly in indication. "I mean, what else do we have to lose?"

Ryan rolled his eyes, and was about to argue that essentially that meant that they were back to square one, when it clicked with him. In the past, their digivices had always reacted whenever they needed something bad enough, be it their partners digivolving to protect them or opening up a gateway to the real world. The principle was the same really, but _how_ was he supposed to access that?

_Maybe I'm thinking about it too much,_ thought Ryan as he thought back to a book on Chinese _Taoism_ that his father had once bought. He had flipped through it one day, looking for some _light _reading. The philosophy itself proved to be anything but, and it certainly was confusing to his prepubescent mind as much of it involved one form of contradiction or another, but ultimately its greatest voice was in its emphasis on _non-voice_. It worked away from the logical world of words and focused more on spirituality and emptying the mind through meditation in order to be at peace with the world. It had been very thought provoking, and he was considering actually taking it up to see where it would lead him.

However, being transported to the digital world pretty much put a halt to such thoughts and after that his main focus became one of survival.

But that was neither here nor there, although in some ways there were similarities. He needed something to help his friend, his partner. Richoemon had stood by him throughout the majority of his trip to the digital world, not counting the time when he and Chris landed in the middle of the desert but still. Richoemon had never once faltered. Ryan sometimes considered it an oddity that the digimon had followed him with such loyalty, acting as his conscience while at the same time being the lighter and more innocent side of the pair much in the way that Caramon tended to be more sarcastic and outgoing while Chris was sometimes withdrawn and hated being the center of attention. They balanced each other out and were there for each other when it counted. For Ryan, his relationship with Richoemon always felt a little bit one-sided, mainly from Richoemon's unquestioning loyalty and his constantly stepping up to the dangers that threatened Ryan himself.

_It's high time that I stuck my neck out there for him more,_ thought Ryan, remembering that time in the digital world when his partner digivolved to GrimTerradramon and went out of control, and then later in the real world when he looked at GrimTerradramon in the eye before they merged together. _I want to help him. I __**need**__ to help him. I can't stand just sitting on the sidelines while he takes all the punches for me…_

Around and around, Ryan's thoughts went, his eyes closing as he did so. He focused on his desire to help Richoemon; he thought about how he was in his battle right now. After a few minutes it almost felt as though he could visualize MegaTerradramon's injuries, his exhaustion, and his determination to not stop fighting until some way could be found to help Rika and Renamon.

While Ryan focused his thoughts on his partner, he didn't notice the increase in temperature coming from his digivice.

* * *

MegaTerradramon breathed heavily as he dodged another _Obsidian Rain_ from Kuzuhamon, his wings straining as exhaustion played at their tendons. The battle was _not_ going well, and the loss of MetalDracaramon from the battlefield only made things worse as now Kuzuhamon could put all of her focus on him. This was followed by the deadening realization that he just didn't have the power or experience that it took to put the Mega level Shaman down.

_I hope that someone gets here soon to lend a hand,_ gasped MegaTerradramon mentally as he did a barrel roll in the air, narrowly getting missed by yet another, more focused stream of black, crystal shards from the dark shaman priestess. _I really could use a breather here…_

**"Womb Realm Mandala!"**

_Aw nuts…_

MegaTerradramon looked over his shoulder to see Kuzuhamon pull back her staff in a wide arc, preparing to slash it and send another relentless wave of energy at him that would encircle him, and crush him. Gritting his teeth, MegaTerradramon prepared himself for the pain that was sure to follow.

**"Shield of the Just!"**

With almost cat like reflexes, Kuzuhamon altered her plan of in response to the unexpected attack. Twisting in the air, Kuzuhamon slashed her silver staff and released her _Womb Realm Mandala_ attack like a twin pair of blades towards a shining white knight as it soared through the air, its massive shield glowing from the intense energies that swam around upon its surface until in one mighty burst, those energies were unleashed in one, powerful beam of light. Both attacks from the shaman and the knight collided with tremendous force and set off a fierce and almost blinding explosion that caused all three combatants to pause, and assess each other once the smoke and fire had died down.

Gallantmon landed heavily on his feet atop of a nearby roof, his golden eyes turned upwards at Kuzuhamon as she floated down to him, the expression on her face one of such serene calmness that one would almost think that they didn't just attack each other and that she hadn't tried to kidnap him earlier.

"I didn't want this Dreamer," Kuzuhamon said, her voice soft, lacking in any of the intensity of earlier events. "I merely wanted to keep you safe."

In his data sphere Takato was flabbergasted.

"Wha…? _Safe?_ You hurt my friends, try to kidnap me, and…" Takato clutched at the sides of his head in frustration before glowering at Kuzuhamon. "…I don't even know what happened to Rika and Renamon; if they're somehow being controlled or possessed or what…!"

"I am simply using their body to facilitate the completion of my mission until such a time that I am able to reconstitute a form for myself…"

"Either way, for someone who claims to want to keep me safe you sure have a strange way of showing it! Let them go…_now!"_

Kuzuhamon chuckled wryly.

"Or? After all, you can't harm me without harming those whose bodies I have taken for my own, and to harm them is to harm yourself. Especially since they're connected so _closely_ to you…"

Takato shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I know for a fact that Rika and Renamon wouldn't stand for something like what you're doing!"

"I know that too _Dreamer_. What they sense, what they feel, what they remember…you are right in your assessment of your friends. But what about you? Could you bring yourself to harm them, even if it was for their own good? If it was the only way that you could free them? Well…perhaps you might, but let me tell you something. _You_ don't have anything to fear from _me._ On the contrary, the entity that is here now, the being that awakened me and triggered my _possession_ of your two friends upon their merging; _he _is what you should be afraid of. He has been on the trail of the two Keepers, Ryan and Chris, since they first arrived in the digital world, searching for them because of what they possess. But their powers aren't anywhere _near_ what you have, _Dreamer._ For you are _complete_ while _they_ are fragments of their source. You have the power to shape the world around you, and if you are discovered, you will become a prime target for those forces that crave that capability…to order the world as _they_ see fit! From what I know of you through your friend's memories, you are not the sort of person who would readily invite danger, nor do you wish it to involve those that you care about. Come with me…"

"NO!"

Within his data sphere, Takato narrowed his eyes. There was too much, far too much information for him to process. And there were other pressing issues that were already barking on his doorstep. The breach between the worlds, Ryan and Chris's problems, Leomon and Beelzemon's battle with Kuzuhamon's fox spirit, Rika and Renamon…he didn't know if what he had been told was true, or if he should even believe it at all. But he couldn't just leave everything, his friends, his family, to whatever was going on _now_ based on something that some being told him. He didn't feel that this _being_ had earned any reason for him and Guilmon to trust a single word that she said, not when her actions had so far proven otherwise.

Taking a deep breath, Takato took a moment to look within himself for the resolve that it was going to take to do what he had in mind. To battle Kuzuhamon essentially meant battling Rika and Renamon, and while he had told the others that he'd do battle with her, Kuzuhamon had made a good point about whether or not he would be able to fight her because of that. He had said that Rika and Renamon wouldn't stand for being controlled like this, especially in light of her experiences with such digimon like IceDevimon and Parasimon. Odds were, she would prefer that someone did take her down before she became a danger to her friends, and while Takato had some measure of confidence that she did believe that he wondered if he himself would be able to do something of that sort. Would he be able fight his friends?

Gallantmon raised his lance, his eyes flitting over Kuzuhamon's shoulder to see MegaTerradramon coming up behind her, his body glowing with a strange, orange aura around him. He had to make a decision, and fast! Because like it or not, this battle was about to resume.

"For Rika and Renamon's sake," intoned Gallantmon as he pointed his lance at Kuzuhamon. "I _will_ fight you. And I will _win!"_

Oddly, Kuzuhamon's mouth transformed into a smirk that was powerfully reminiscent of Rika's.

"I didn't expect anything less," Kuzuhamon replied as she raised her staff.

* * *

12 


	30. Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 29/ Dawn

Henry held his sister's hand as they ran, trying to put some distance between themselves and the darkness that continued to press forward throughout the city, engulfing it within its depths. In his logical mind, Henry knew that darkness was simply the absence of light, and thus could not hurt them in any way outside of deprive them of their eyesight, but for some reason, when he looked at this particular darkness he felt a fear so intense and irrational that he also knew that no matter what, he did _not_ want to be inside its shadow, let alone be so much as _touched_ by it, which was something that surprised him.

When he was younger he, like most children, had been afraid of the dark. For him, he suffered from this far less then most kids his age had, and would venture out into it even when his nerves screamed at him to do otherwise. He outgrew the fear rapidly as he aged, and it had ceased to bother him by the time he was done with the first grade (something that none of his other siblings had ever managed to do), but even so he was keenly aware that a little piece of it always remained, buried in layers of the subconscious and within memories from when he was young, ignorant, naïve, and otherwise vulnerable to the dangers of the world in which he, like Takato, had peopled with monsters and demons of the like who's home was wherever darkness lay, be it in the closet or under the bed.

_Funny_… That was what Henry would have thought if he ever wondered about the possibility that he would one day see that fear revitalized with enough force to nearly overwhelm his analytical mind, and if asked he would have taken a moment to consider the question and do some soul searching to make sure before replying _'no'_ in response. Even when he set out on his adventures as a Tamer this did not occur to him, and never in his wildest dreams would it have (after all, _dreams_ were more or less Takato's department while he was the thinker, the more _logical_ of the pair). Now however, the question was not only brought out to be scrutinized, it practically screamed at him in the face to be recognized and considered.

And now, here he was. Trying to find safe harbor for his little sister, who was making sounds that one normally associated with agitation, fear, and general upset all the while facing an inner terror that he thought long forgotten. The goblins and gremlins that he had once believed to lie under his bed and reside in his closet burst forth from their hiding places, demanding payment for all the night horrors that they had missed out on with this particular, intellectual child of reason; with interest.

In just a few short minutes, those old nightmares of childhood would be visited upon him in the literal sense as well as the figurative.

Suzie cried out as her foot tripped on pavement, bringing her up short and would have brought her all the way to the ground if it hadn't been for the fact that Henry had been there to hold on to her and support her against her sudden loss of balance.

"Ahhh!"

"Suzie!" Exclaimed Henry as his grip on her tightened and he brought his other hand around to grab her before she fell. "You okay?"

"Ah…ah…ah…" Suzie looked over her shoulder, her mouth working in an effort to try and speak, but as things stood it didn't look like she was going to be able to manage it any time soon.

_She's too scared,_ thought Henry as he followed the young girl's gaze to the encroaching darkness as it slid over a parked car and devoured a house like some sort of pitiless liquid. _Poor thing. I can't say I blame her either. That thing…whatever it is…it's making my skin crawl just looking at it. Whatever this thing is, it's about as bad as the D-Reaper. I can't remember the last time we saw something expand so effortlessly. I don't dare send Rapidmon and Antylamon into it until we get a better understanding of just what it is. Hmmm…_

Henry frowned as his mind raced in an attempt to understand what he was seeing. Wishing that the others were there with him, Henry, upon seeing that Suzie had regained her feet again, led his little sister away from the shadow once more.

_It looks like it's starting to slow down a bit…but why? Never mind. That as far as I can tell is a good thing. I don't know what it is, or how to even __**begin**__ to describe it, but so long as it stops advancing then that means that we'll have time to pull regroup and come up with some sort of plan. I wonder what happened to that…whatever it was that appeared before the darkness began spreading. So far I haven't seen so much as a single bit of movement or any sign that it's even still there. But then, I have all this darkness to thank for that. What I need is a little bit of light…_

_Wait a minute…that's it! Light!_

Henry moved a little bit faster so as to put some more distance between himself and the darkness, now decreasing its rate of encroachment upon the city of Shinjuku, so that he could put a little experiment into action. Looking up, Henry's eyes tracked the sky until he found what he was looking for.

"RAPIDMON!" Henry called, shouting as loud as he could. "ANTYLAMON!"

_"You don't have to yell Henry," _spoke up Rapidmon's voice from the communication link through Henry's digivice. _"Or did you forget about Suzie's discovery?"_

"Sorry," said Henry as he and Suzie came to a stop and he took out his digivice from his waistband. "Force of habit."

"Not as much of a habit as Takato's when he shouts at the top of his lungs during battle," chuckled Rapidmon as he came in for a landing seconds later. "I tell ya, one of these days that kid is going to make my ears bleed."

"Rapidmon, do I even _need_ to point out that your ears are usually cybernetic when something like that happens? They _can't_ bleed…"

"Okay, so it'll be oil instead of blood. What's the difference?"

"Rapidmon…"

"Maybe you should get serious for a moment Rapidmon," said Antylamon as she somersaulted down to the streets next to the machine bunny. Upon seeing the much larger, Ultimate level rabbit Deva Suzie broke away from her brother's grip with surprising force and ran over to her partner, wrapping her arms around one of Antylamon's legs as best as she could with their difference in sizes. Antylamon gave a light laugh before focusing her attention on Henry.

"Have you thought of a plan for us?"

"Maybe," said Henry as he pulled out his cards from his pockets. "It's a little risky, but we need to see what's going on inside that dark matter, and I'm worried about sending either of you inside of there to check out the situation…"

"**You're** worried?" Exclaimed Rapidmon incredulously. "Join the club! I don't know about you guys but that thing is _creepy!_ I may be just a machine in this form but that thing makes my fur stand on end worse then Beelzemon did when he was trying to kill us, and the fact that I don't even _have_ fur to stand on end in this form should tell you just how bad that thing is. On a scale of one to ten on a level of creepiness, that's things a twelve followed by six zeroes…"

"I know," nodded Henry as he brought out the card that he was looking for. "But we still have to do something about it."

"Great. So while we're waiting for the rest of the team to show up and lend us a hand?"

Henry frowned at that, wondering why it was that the others hadn't shown up yet but quickly pushed the thought aside. He had a job to do first.

"Well, we know that this _aura_ is darkness surrounding that creature that bio-emerged," said Henry as he raised the card that he had chosen and showed it to Rapidmon. Rapidmon's mechanical eyes widened as he saw it; the gears in his mind automatically clicking in the metaphorical sense as he caught on to what Henry was thinking on doing.

"What say that we shed a little light on the situation?"

Rapidmon nodded his head.

"You got it Henry."

With a returning nod, Henry brought the card to his D-Arc and swiftly slashed it through the slot in the side. Sparks flashed as the card was fed through the reader and scanned.

"DIGI-MODIFY! RADIANT FAITH ACTIVATE!"

Rapidmon leapt up into the air as his engines roared to life. A golden glow enveloped his body as he rose into the air and flew off towards the dark aura that had enveloped the city. The light that surrounded the android digimon as he flew closer to the bubble of darkness, and the shadows retreated from him, as though afraid of he light that Rapidmon shone with. Rapidmon smirked beneath his helmet, feeling that he now had an advantage against the intruder. Loading his missile launchers Rapidmon came to a halt in mid-air and took aim at the inky, black void in front of him

**"Rapid Fire!"**

Twin missiles rocketed from their compartments in his arms and soared through the air towards the shadows ahead, light surging off of their surfaces like miniature suns, illuminating the darkness around them as they flew onwards. They did not impact with the shadowy barrier, as Rapidmon had expected due to the complete solid appearance of the blackness ahead. Instead the light illuminated it in a way reminiscent of a flashlight in a thick fog, giving the area within the enshrouded areas a ghostly appearance. Rapidmon frowned as his sensors took in the _dark area_ of the city. So far there was nothing to indicate that there was anything wrong. He was still picking up the usual signs of human and animal life (though oddly enough, the lack of any response from either of them was more then enough to disconcert the cybernetic digimon), and the only thing that had changed in any _physical_ way was the luminosity. Everything remained…_undisturbed._

_Huh,_ thought Rapidmon as he continued to watch the missiles race through the shadows. _Henry wasn't kidding when he said that we'd shed some light on the situation. I had an idea that he wanted to try and illuminate the place, but I didn't think that it'd be so easy. I wonder why it wa…_

Rapidmon's thoughts were cut off as the lights from his missiles suddenly vanished, and the darkness regained the complete and total wall-like solidity that it had prior to Rapidmon's attack. The light that Rapidmon himself was emitting was more then enough for him to continue to observe any changes in the surface of the shadow bubble however, and as Rapidmon watched the surface warped and sent out ripples across it. Rapidmon tensed, wondering what Henry was thinking about this. He was tempted to ask…

_You know,_ thought Rapidmon sarcastically. _In the movies this is usually the scene where a character that stares too long and stupidly at something like this would end up having a clawed hand grab at their face…_

As though the thought had been a signal, a black stream surged out from the ink-like surface, forming into something akin to a fist that slammed into Rapidmon's midsection, sending the mechanical flying hound tumbling end over end, his combination jet pack and missile pack on his back firing for all he was worth to stabilize him. While he was doing that the shapeless stream of shadow fell back a bit and began to condense and take shape. Great, bat-like wings burst from its surface as it began to take on a roughly humanoid shape to its features. A large, bulbous sphere materialized between a pair of clawed arms and turned towards Rapidmon. A thin line appeared in the center of the creature's _head_ and spread open, revealing what looked to be an eye that was the same color through and through as the rest of its body. Finally, Rapidmon stabilized himself and found himself staring at the creature. A shiver ran down the android's mechanical spine as he saw a second line appear on the makeshift _eye_ (such as it was given the singular color that it had obscured the eyes features).

_Okay…now I'm __**really**__ creeped out here…_

As if to emphasize the point, the _eye_ now opened like a jaw, revealing multiple rows of razor sharp, serrated teeth. A series of clicking noises that made Rapidmon think of insects for some reason was emitted from the depths of the mouth like apparatus and it began to pull itself forth from the shadows. More ripples began to appear from other areas on the dark wall and Rapidmon retreated, bringing his cannons to bear on the figure that was emerging like some kind of mockery of the butterfly from its cocoon.

_Maybe it's friendly?_ Thought Rapidmon, though the questioning tone in his mind revealed all the doubts that he had on the objectivity of the being in front of him. As the creature began to come close to pulling free, Rapidmon's right eye twitched as he saw a clawed hand tear free from the dark area directly above it. Rapidmon's nerve snapped and his cannons glowed brightly from the effects of Henry's _Radiant Faith_ card. Rapidmon took aim and fired without a second thought.

**"Rapid…FIRE!"

* * *

**

"RAPIDMON!" Shouted Henry as he gripped his digivice harshly as it displayed him everything that his partner saw. He had seen the creatures that had begun to emerge from the shadow wall, and had seen Rapidmon fire off his attack at them upon seeing them. Frankly he couldn't blame him. Had he been there himself he probably would have reacted the same way. They were unlike anything he had ever seen, and given the sort of things that he had experienced that was saying quite a lot. And now that there looked to be _multiple_ versions of it emerging, apparently looking for a fight in response to Rapidmon's firing his missiles earlier to light up the shadow barrier's interior (to say nothing of the fact that Rapidmon had let loose a pair of missiles on one of the creatures when it had appeared), Henry's worries became heightened.

"Rapidmon," spoke Henry, taking a breath to calm himself. "Are you there? Talk to me…"

_"I'm still here Henry," _said Rapidmon, sounding somewhat ruffled now. _"So momentai already."_

_Thank you,_ Henry's mind whispered.

"Rapidmon, pull back to my location. I have a feeling that we're going to need to go all out for this one."

_"Ten-four buddy! But what about Suzie?"_

Henry looked over at his little sister and the massive Antylamon. Suzie was looking at Henry with wide eyes. Her mouth opened as if she could guess what was on his mind.

"No…"

"Antylamon?"

"I understand," said the tall rabbit Deva as she scooped Suzie up into her massive paws. Suzie began to struggle and squirm, causing Antylamon to worry about her falling to the ground, or she herself possibly hurting the little girl in her attempts to keep her from escaping.

"No! Henwy needs ouw help Antylamon!"

"Suzie…" began Antylamon.

"No! I'm n-n-not leaving my bwoth…"

"Suzie!"

Suzie's eyes went wide once more as she turned to look at Henry. The boy's gray eyes were blazing and hard as stone, but after a few seconds they softened. The sound of Rapidmon approaching them could be heard now.

"Suzie…I know that you want to help, and I know that you're a Tamer, and that because of that you carry the same responsibilities as I do. But…and I know that you're tired of hearing this, but you're still too young for this. We don't know what's coming, and Antylamon won't be able to protect you and fight at the same time. The best thing that you and Antylamon can do right now is find Takato and the others and get them down here to help out before the situation goes out of control. And if you can't find them, go down to Hypnos and tell Yamaki what's going on. He'll be able to help and Dad should be there with him. Do you remember how to get to Hypnos?"

Suzie nodded slowly.

"Good. Can you do those things for me? Please?"

Henry said this last in a tone that was far softer then he had ever remembered using towards his little sister, and it caused Suzie's eyes to tear up and she sniffed.

"O-Okay…I will…"

Henry smiled as Rapidmon came to a landing next to him.

"That's my Suzie." Henry looked up at Antylamon as she rose to her full height. "Make sure that she stays safe for me, okay?"

"I will guard her with my life," said Antylamon in a solemn voice and a second later she turned and began sprinting away rapidly from the soon to be battlefield.

Henry turned to Rapidmon. Clicking sounds filled the air and Henry could even now see dark, winged figures flying in the air towards them.

"Are you ready Rapidmon?" Asked Henry as he gripped his digivice.

"Any time, anywhere!"

"All right then. **Biomerge Activate!"

* * *

**

Jeri Katou ran through the streets of her home, her eyes intently focused on the burst of light that had appeared not too long ago. She no longer needed to use the compass function of her digivice to look for Leomon. The bright, pulsing light was all the _X marks the spot_ that she needed to find him. Fear slammed home in the girl's chest as she continued at her furious pace, concern for what was happening to Leomon all but overriding her thoughts. She had lost Leomon's viewpoint of what was going on at precisely the moment that the light show had started up, which was cause enough for her to be even more concerned then she already had been given her own unspoken fears about losing the lion digimon that was her partner again. For some reason though she felt that Leomon hadn't been harmed. Something deep inside of her assured her of that (though how that could be she had no clear idea), but she _did_ feel that Leomon was in some form of danger. Hence, her reasons for racing through the streets as though her life depended on it, ignoring Kazu and Kenta's shouts as they pursued her, and keep her from running into something that could potentially harm her person.

Suddenly, the bright light flared once, and in time with it Jeri felt something pulse in her heart, causing her to draw to a stop, her gaze still fixated on the area where the light was coming from. Distantly she heard Kazu and Kenta saying something as they came to a stop next to her, but she ignored them. For some reason it seemed much more important to stay focused on the…

_Oh!_ Jeri's heart fluttered a little as once more the light pulsated and then surged upwards like a rocket, a tremendous roar tearing through the air as it launched itself away from the ground and towards the…Jeri blinked as she saw that the light's course took it in a straight line towards the direction of the bio-emergence from earlier, something that so far they had unable to deal with up until this point. But that light? What was it? Jeri narrowed her eyes, trying to get a clearer view of it…

…And then suddenly Kazu's hand obscured her vision.

"Hey. Jeri? You in there? Hellooo…. A little confirmation that you're still with us would be helpful sometime in the near future…"

Jeri frowned in irritation and grabbed the boy's hand and forced it down, away from her eyes.

_"Kazu!"_ Jeri hissed angrily, causing the boy to stare at her, dumbfounded by her reaction. _"Not_ _now!"_

"Whoa! Take it easy there Jeri…"

"Jeri," began Kenta tentatively, raising one hand in an uncertain motion as though in debate as to whether or not he should place it on her shoulder to get her attention. "Are you feeling okay?"

Jeri made a _shushing_ motion with her hand as she focused once more on the bright comet of light that soared through the air. Already a shape was starting to form within it.

_It kind of looks like a lion…_thought Jeri as her eyes continued to trace its path through the sky. _A lion with wings…

* * *

_

**"Mega Barrage!"**

The large, overbearing mechanical form of MegaGargomon unleashed a massive volley of missiles, bullets, and lasers from the weapons held within hidden compartments all over his body as he struggled to take apart the oncoming wave of shadow creatures as they emerged from the dark barrier. Their numbers seemed endless, and while they more or less appeared to be invulnerable to the detonation of the numerous missiles that impacted with them, the flashes of light that were emitted upon their explosion, as well as that of the lasers as they smashed into their targets were more then enough to disperse them, something of an interesting occurrence, Henry noted from within his emerald data sphere as he continued to fire away. Moving one of his legs, Henry manipulated his and Terriermon's combined Mega form's leg to begin retreating. As much as he was destroying the creatures as they rushed towards him, murder plainly evident in their motions (especially since one of them had taken a slash at their eyes when it had gotten too close), their number appeared to be without end, and they continued to advance towards him relentlessly without any regard to their own safety. Henry couldn't help but feel more then a little bit of déjà vu about this fight. It was almost as though he were back fighting D-Reaper again.

Suddenly Terriermon gave a cry of alarm and looking down to see what was the matter Henry gasped as a black void materialized from beneath his feet and began to flow up their body like some form of living ink.

_"Aaaah! Terriermon!"_ Henry cried as he felt a burning coldness tear through his body wherever the blackness touched him. Struggling against the darkness, Henry diverted his attention away from the encroaching mass of creatures as they surged towards him…

That was a _very _big mistake.

The army of dark monstrosities smashed into MegaGargomon like a tidal wave, their combined force upsetting the Mega level war machines balance and sent him toppling backwards. Pin wheeling his biomerged forms arms Henry struggled to maintain his balance while Terriermon sent a mental command to the thruster jets that were on their back, and activated them so that they could gain some loft against the nigh resistant force of gravity that called upon them to join the earth beneath them. The thrusters burst to life, and the two partners felt the grip of the shadow that held them weaken a little from the burning light that the engines emitted, but the darkness continued to hold fast. The swarm of creatures pounded on the emerald armor of MegaGargomon's body and scratched at it, but up to this point they showed themselves completely unable to so much as put a dent on the Mega, something for which both Henry and Terriermon were immensely grateful for. However, that didn't leave them in the clear just yet. Gritting his teeth, Henry fought against the searing cold that he felt from when the dark shadow had grabbed him earlier. It was spreading like wildfire up his limbs, and already he could feel his legs start to buckle from the pain and numbness that were seeping in. They had to break free, and soon or else they would be rendered incapable of defending themselves and the city from…whatever these things were.

MegaGargomon pulled his legs upwards relentlessly as his arms shook off or brushed off any of the creatures that continued to cling to him, his vast arsenal no use to him at this close of a range.

_"This is starting to get ridiculous,"_ muttered Terriermon as both he and Henry continued to bat away at the wave of shadow creatures that clung to them much the same way that flies cling to a tasty treat. The mental imagery made Henry cringe from within his data sphere.

_"Well if you have any other ideas I'd __**love **__to hear them…"_ answered Henry sarcastically, grunting as he finally broke an armored leg free from the darkness beneath them, growling in frustration as the shadow grabbed hold of it once more, this time with a firmer grip then earlier while the rest of it continued to crawl up their body, as though it sought to devour them. _"Let's face it; we're going to need to be a bit more direct if we're going to get out of this one in relatively one piece. We can't afford to play nice here!"_

_"I'm with you on that one Henry, but if we damage ourselves we'll be leaving ourselves vulnerable in case things don't pan out right. But…considering the circumstances it doesn't look like we have any other choice does it?"_

From within his green colored data sphere Henry shook his head.

_"No. No it doesn't. Okay. Get ready to fly us out of here as fast as you can Terriermon. I'm going to cut us loose in about one second!"_

Pointing their gun-barreled arms downwards, Henry rolled through their magazines and reloaded, getting ready to fire on the roots of the shadow that continued to hold them fixed to the ground in spite of their engines roaring at full power.

**"Mega Barra**_**AAAAH!!!**_

Both Henry and Terriermon cried out in pain as a pair of massive, black hands suddenly clamped down on their wrists and squeezed at the exact moment that the magazines went off, exploding within their barrels and leaving their arms a smoking, burning ruin of what they once were. Trying to force out the possible ramifications of how such an act would affect them once they separated from their Mega form Henry's head snapped up to see what had been the source of the unexpected attack. Henry's blood ran cold as he saw the shadow barrier rippling once more as a massive form began to emerge from it. A form that was connected to the arms that still held him by his smoking wrists. It was a quadruped entity, resembling a centaur in some aspects, though with far less grace then that mythical creature and far larger as well. Easily the size of if not larger then MegaGargomon himself, who already towered over most digimon when standing at his full height. Its lower body was covered in fur while the upper took on more of a demonic humanoid shape, complete with an animal snout on its face and a pair of bull-like horns protruding from the sides of its skull. Henry suddenly found himself perplexed, and he could sense Terriermon's confusion match his.

_Something's not right here. This…doesn't match up with what we've seen up until now,_ thought Henry, until earlier memories from the past week came to mind. Henry gulped from within his data sphere, not liking the ramifications of this development at all.

The new creature that he was looking at was a digimon that he recognized all too well. It had, after all, been the first Mega he and his friends encountered prior to their visit to the digital world to rescue Calumon. It was Gulfmon, a pure black, Gulfmon.

_"This guy's just like that Apemon that we encountered the day after Ryan and Chris showed up,"_ piped in Terriermon. Henry frowned and nodded. There was little else to add to that observation. If experience were any indication, this new version of _Gulfmon_ (if that was what it actually was) would be immensely powerful. Suddenly retreating and regrouping was starting to sound a whole lot better.

The Gulfmon opened its mouth as it began to approach him, a deep, echoing voice emerging from it and reverberating on the air in a way that sounded as final and as certain as the grave.

_"Yes…you shall do for a servant. You are not what I am looking for, but you contain great power. Power that I can use…"_

Henry grimaced.

_"If that's a job offer, I'm not interested. __**Gargo Missiles!"**_

With little to no warning, the two missile tubes that sat on top of MegaGargomon's shoulders roared forth as their engines kicked to life, the smiling rabbit faces transforming into smiles as they surged towards their targets. In order to increase the point that Henry was making, his chest plate sprung open, revealing a series of hidden laser cannons that flared with light as they began to fire. Both attacks held enough destructive force to level a city block, and against a digimon like Gulfmon the missiles would normally have been enough to delete it, but again, as experience had taught him when confronting creatures such as the Apemon from a week ago, every little bit counted.

The attacks didn't even come close to touching Gulfmon.

With even less warning then MegaGargomon had given the massive, demonic digimon, a dark aura flared around Gulfmon's body for a moment, and the missiles along with the laser blasts burst into shards of data before they could even touch him. Gulfmon smiled a thin, sick smile as he locked his gaze on MegaGargomon's shocked expression.

_"Lord Ahuramon offers no choice. He commands."_

No sooner had Gulfmon finished saying that, the dark barrier behind him began to reabsorb his body. Gulfmon, still holding onto MegaGargomon's arms jerked him forward. His balance, already made precarious by the debilitating effects of the shadows that still held fast to him, gave out, causing him to crash to the ground, setting off tremors as he impacted with the street beneath him. To Henry and Terriermon's horror they found their own, still firing thrusters working against them now, making Gulfmon's job easier as he began to pull them into the dark barrier up ahead.

_"Embrace Lord Ahuramon. Embrace… the darkness…"_ Gulfmon's voice whispered as his face disappeared into the barrier.

_"No…it can't end like this…"_

As if in answer to a prayer, a shining white light cut across Gulfmon's arms, severing them at the base of their wrists, freeing MegaGargomon from their clutches. Screaming in pain Gulfmon pulled his stumps back, vanishing entirely into the shadows. Although Gulfmon had ceased to pull on him, the shadows that held MegaGargomon continued to try and push him into the inky void ahead of him. As though it were in disagreement, the light that had torn through Gulfmon's limbs earlier shone even brighter, rays acting like needles and blades as they burned the shadows that held the Mega, destroying them with the utmost ease. Now free, MegaGargomon struggled to a kneeling position and looked up, trying to see what it was that had rescued him. Within his data sphere, Henry's eyes widened in surprise as they lighted upon what looked to be a quadruped lion with angelic wings, a bright, rainbow like aura surrounding its form and giving off a radiance so bright that it was almost impossible to look at, even with a set of mechanical eyes.

_I've never seen a digimon like that before,_ thought Henry in awe as he took the creature in. Before Henry could call out to it and ask it any questions, the light that surrounded the being flared suddenly and died down. A second later, the limp figure of Leomon began to tumble through the air. Reacting instantly, MegaGargomon reached out with his damaged hands and deftly caught the proud, lion warrior as best and as gently as he could.

_"Did he just digivolve?"_ Wondered Henry as he looked at Leomon as though with new eyes.

_"I don't think so," _spoke up Terriermon's voice from the void surrounding Henry's data sphere. _"I didn't sense him giving off any digivolving energy…"_

Henry was about to pursue the question when he was reminded that they still had a situation on their hands. Realizing that he was most likely not in any condition to continue the fight against whatever it was that dwelt within that dark barrier, MegaGargomon increased the thrust power of his engines and began to lift off from the ground.

_"We'd better get Leomon to a safe place…"

* * *

_

WHAM!

Gallantmon's head rocked as Kuzuhamon smashed her staff across his face in a swift, brutal motion. Had he not had that much vital extremity protected the way it was with his armored helm there stood a very good chance of Kuzuhamon taking his head off. Of course, he imagined that she knew that fact, and it no doubt explained why she was hitting him as hard as she was even though she claimed that it was not her intention to harm him. Seemed like a conflict of interest from Takato's point of view, but then again he had arrived to fight Kuzuhamon despite the fact that she was possessing the bodies of two of his closest friends, risking their safety while at the same time trying to free them. At least, that was how it seemed at first…

Within his crimson data sphere, Takato winced as Kuzuhamon delivered a swift, powerful blow to his midsection, causing him to bend forward where the demon woman's awaiting foot greeted his face. The powerful kick that followed and sent him flying backwards belied the appearance of gracefulness that Kuzuhamon had, but that didn't surprise Takato in the least. Digimon tended to be stronger then looks led others to believe (after all, he had MarineAngemon to serve as an excellent example of that), and as he had once told Guilmon nearly a year ago, he was quite certain that Rika would be able to kick his butt anyway. It was almost ironic that they were here now, even if it wasn't really Rika fighting him, which in a way, it was.

_Great, now I'm confusing myself,_ commiserated Gallantmon as he struggled to his feet. Kuzuhamon was flying towards him again, staff drawn back and glowing with a dark blue aura, promising a world of hurt for him if he didn't do something to defend against it…

"EEEYAAAGGGHHH!!!"

Suddenly, Kuzuhamon was plowed into by the heaving form of MegaTerradramon, the Ultimate vaccine struggling to remove her staff from her person only to be slapped aside contemptuously.

"Stay down Keeper's dragon," snapped Kuzuhamon angrily. "You've battled enough for one day, and I _don't_ want to have to harm you any more then I already have…"

Kuzuhamon halted in her berating of the orange dragon and suddenly leapt up into the air, executing a back flip that narrowly dodged Gallantmon as he charged her with his shield, attempting to execute the same maneuver that his companion did.

"About time that you started fighting back," said Kuzuhamon coolly as she came to a landing behind the Royal Knight. "You were starting to bore me. Tell me something. Are you holding onto the thin hope that one of your friends inside of me are going to find a way to break free of my hold over them and prevent me from fighting you any further? Because if you are, you'd better discard such notions now because it's _not_ going to happen!"

"Yeah…right…" gasped MegaTerradramon to Gallantmon as he struggled to his feet. "You'd think that if that were the case…she would take advantage of that and take you apart. I think she's lying…"

Gallantmon looked at his comrade worriedly.

"Either way, she is telling the truth about one thing. You've gotta take a rest now. She's taken a lot out of you already, and MetalDracaramon's already down…"

MegaTerradramon growled.

"I'll be fine. Normally I'd agree with you but…somehow…and don't…ask me to explain it…but somehow I feel as though…Ryan's helping me in some way. I don't feel as roughed up as I know I am. I can stay in this…a little bit longer…"

Takato frowned within his data sphere. He didn't like the idea of MegaTerradramon continuing in this fight. He was already badly hurt and was plainly exhausted (though he had noticed that a strange aura that had surrounded him earlier seemed to revitalized his fighting spirit a bit) in addition to being at a level and type disadvantage against Kuzuhamon, but they didn't have the time to argue about it. Hopefully MegaTerradramon had enough common sense to sit out of the fight when he was too hurt and tired to continue but given how he had stayed in thus far Takato felt that he was going to have to keep a close eye on the Ultimate level dragon.

"Enough of this," growled Kuzuhamon as she slashed her silver staff in the air like a blade, letting loose waves of azure energy crackling upon the air. "It's time to end this battle. Ahuramon is already too close and with night coming closer his power will soon be at its zenith. I cannot allow him to claim you Gallantmon, and I will not allow anyone or anything to get in my way! **Womb Realm Mandala!"**

Gallantmon and MegaTerradramon both dashed to the side, attempting to dodge the attack. MegaTerradramon for his part was far more successful then his Royal Knight partner in this venture, though a blast of energy still impacted with him hard enough to knock him down to the ground. Gallantmon however, was far less fortunate and he took the full brunt of the attack, and soon enough found himself caught as the energy waves folded themselves around his body, constructing bands of imprisonment that he could not escape from, try as he might. Dismissing MegaTerradramon as being of no consequence to her mission now, Kuzuhamon began to walk towards Gallantmon, her body taking on a silver glow around her as she stared at the Exalted Knight, seeing past the layers of data and finding the boy that lay within the digi-core within. All she had to do now was extract him like she had before and then she could get out of here with her prize intact…

Kuzuhamon raised one hand to accomplish this deed when suddenly she felt herself hesitate. Her hand was shaking, as though struggling against some inner force that was preventing her from following through with her mission. Frowning at it, Kuzuhamon gasped inaudibly as she heard a voice grate from within her mind, as fierce as a lion and as hard and unyielding as stone.

"_You won't have him. I don't care who you are but you are not touching Takato. Not him, or any of my friends! As long as I'm around, and still breathing, you will not hurt __**any one I care about!!!**__"_

"Shut up," Kuzuhamon whispered as she gripped the sides of her head in agony, her staff clattering on the ground noisily, completely surprised by this unexpected event before forcing the voice down to a distant echo.

_I had thought that I had silenced that girl's spirit, but it's still as strong as ever! I'm going to have to do something about that if I'm to remain in this body…_

Shaking her head and setting her mouth into a grim, thin line, Kuzuhamon pulled back her arm once more, her motions stiff and erratic as Gallantmon watched her, still struggling against his bonds. It was pointless though. The bands of energy refused to budge so much as an inch…

As Kuzuhamon's hand descended, an obstruction suddenly altered her plans.

* * *

Ryan felt as though he were floating in a stream, feeling water ripple around his body as he listened to the silent trickle as it flowed by. It was strange; it felt as though his partner was with him. He could hear his heart beating, and it was almost like it was beating in his chest as well. It felt…nice in a way. It almost made him feel complete…like he was a part of something greater. Slowly, Ryan began to open his eyes, for it felt as though they had been closed for a long time. There was a light flitting through the cracks of his eyelids. Something was in that light…something was… 

Ryan's eyes snapped open as he saw for an instant a gloved hand flying right towards him, and then white-hot agony burst through his skull.

His screams tore from his throat and echoed upon the night air as his digivice fell from his fingers.

* * *

Kuzuhamon felt as though she had received a jolt as her hand tore through MegaTerradramon's right eye. The Ultimate had dashed in the path of her hand at the last minute in an attempt to stop her. Wounded as he had been he had timed his launch wrong and his balance had been shot to pieces, resulting in his placement of where he was instead of the intended plan to crash into her as he had before. MegaTerradramon roared in pain with a voice that strangely sounded as though two were screaming as one, and a bright, orange aura flared about him once before running up the length of Kuzuhamon's arm and blasting her backwards. Landing on her back with a grunt, Kuzuhamon felt her body go rigid as energy surged through her form. Gritting her teeth, it felt as though the world was becoming strangely distant to her. She was no longer aware of MegaTerradramon lying on the ground inert, or of Gallantmon's painful cry. Instead she was only aware of…_a presence._

The world slipped away from her grasp as the feeling of _presence_ grew stronger…

* * *

Takato now fought with renewed energy against the bands that held him imprisoned and helpless as he looked down upon the unmoving form of MegaTerradramon, and he felt Guilmon struggling even harder with him. Rage just seemed to boil up inside of him, the rings of data that surrounded his data sphere spinning even faster in response to his growing emotions. 

_Why does this keep happening? Why do my friends keep getting victimized by those who think that they have the right to do whatever they want with the world? No more…NO MORE! I…__**WON'T…**__ LET IT __**CONTINUE ANY MO…**_

Takato halted in his ranting as he suddenly felt a gentle hand fall on his left cheek and a soft, oddly comforting blue light cascaded over him in a way that instantly brought to mind Jeri's face whenever she smiled. It was as if all the light in the world had gathered in this one moment, this one place, and time fell still and silent. Opening his eyes, Takato gasped in surprise as his gaze met that of the cerulean eyes of…

_"Rika?"_ Takato shook his head. Something wasn't right here. Rika's eyes were violet for one thing, not blue, and…_what's she doing with her hair down? Wait…why's she even here at all? Last I checked she…_

Takato frowned mentally as he looked at the girl in the eyes again. For some reason he felt as though they were trying to draw him in…_pull_ him in and never let him out. A small, gentle smile that he couldn't recall her ever having even at her happiest drew up on her face as her thumb rubbed against his cheek softly before she lowered her hand and placed it on his shoulder.

_"The one and only, Gogglehead."_

_"But…how? You were biomerged with Renamon and…"_

_"We still are. And you're still merged with Guilmon. I'm not sure how I can explain it but…we're talking on a completely different level here. A spiritual one I think. Right now we're seeing each other's essences in their purest form." _Rika tilted her head to one side, her gaze still fixated on Takato's eyes as though something about them fascinated her. As though she were seeing something in them that she hadn't noticed or thought to look for before. Takato felt much the same way. From just her eyes alone in the azure light that surrounded her Takato saw the endless strength that made her the Rika that he knew, the care that she showed to her friends and family whenever she saw them and the care that they wouldn't normally see and how far and deep those bonds ran. There was still more…an endless plateau of feelings and emotions, good, bad, pain, love, friendship…all of it was held in the eyes of the girl that he had first seen in a dream so long ago before his Tamer days even began, and within the azure light that was beginning to flow in tune with his own, crimson one. Everything she was was laid bare for him to see just like everything he was had been laid bare for her to see. Strangely enough he felt no shame in this. And if he had the frame of mind to even think of that sort of thing, he would have been too entranced by what he was seeing to even think about it. Tears began to well up in Takato's eyes as he looked into Rika's, the nimbus of warmth and light that surrounded her intensified in response and Rika once more brought her hand up to Takato's face.

_"R-Rika…"_

_"Yeah…I know. It's…something else isn't it? You…this…it's not what I would have expected, that's for sure…"_

Rika's gaze softened for a moment before her grip on the boy's face became firm.

_"Takato…I know that you're not going to like this, but…I'm going to have to go away for a while. Something's happening right now. You already know that of course, or at least you have an idea of it. Anyway, what happened earlier with MegaTerradramon…I don't know what it was that he did but he gave me just enough of a reprieve to regain control over my and Renamon's body. It won't last long, and sooner or later the spirit that's in us…Kuzunoha…she's going to take control again and when she does I can't be around for that. She'll keep trying to come after you if we're still here, and the others are going to need you to help take out that thing that bio-emerged earlier. __**Ahuramon's Shadow**__ I think it was called…"_

Takato was about to protest against Rika's course of action when suddenly the words died in his mouth. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as though they would have been useless regardless. Rika smiled seeing his realization dawn in his eyes. _He saw…_

_"Don't worry about MegaTerradramon," _continued Rika as her smile became a comforting smirk. _"He's getting some help right now. I don't know who or from where, but I can sense it. He'll be fine. Same for Ryan when you see him next. I've got to go soon, so when you see the others…and my family, give them my regards. Tell Jeri that I'm sorry about her party. I wish things could have turned out differently. I… _

Rika paused and furrowed her brow as she brought up her other hand and cupped Takato's other cheek with it, causing the boy to gasp lightly at her touch. Her expression was such that she looked as though she were debating something. Unconsciously Takato brought up his own hands and clasped Rika's hands into them. He felt a strange, yet comforting warmth spread through him as he did so.

_"Just… take care of yourself Takato. Until next time…"_ With that, Rika leaned forward and her warm lips joined his own. A surge of energy suddenly seemed to explode within the boy's chest at the connection and the light that surrounded them increased in intensity, drowning the world in a mixture of blue, white, red, and orange…

* * *

Takato gasped as his eyes flew open and he looked around him uncertainly. On the ground beneath him, Richoemon lay battered and bruised, but otherwise appeared to be okay. The bands of energy that had surrounded him were long gone, as was Kuzuhamon… 

Takato's eyes widened as he searched frantically for any sign of the shaman priestess, but so far none revealed themselves.

_"Guilmon! Rika…she…where…?"_

_"I'm sorry Takato. I don't know either. I can't even smell her scent. It's like she wasn't here at all! I don't understand it…"_

Takato became crestfallen. For a moment, a brief moment he felt…emptiness joining the fear and sadness that he had earlier for his friend and fellow Tamer, and with it a brief, unconscious memory from their meeting in spirit though it was now long forgotten except in that part of himself that time could never touch. Gallantmon's golden eyes traced up to the dark sky as sorrow filled them.

_"Me neither boy. Me neither."_

Takato frowned in his data sphere as he noticed the rather strange intensity of darkness in the depths of the city. The lack of light, the solidity of it all. It was odd. Normally lights were on in Shinjuku no matter what hour it was, and besides he himself was certainly emitting more then enough light to pierce through that darkness…

Takato gasped in surprise as yet another unconscious memory came to him, though it went unnoticed. Looking down at himself, Takato found that his armor had changed, becoming what he had only transformed into a few times before. Red armor replaced the white that had been his previous form, and gold trim in place of the red. His armor became sleeker, more dragon like towards the waist and his hands held two weapons. In one hand, a double bladed spear with a spiked ring around the handle and a long, straight bladed sword in the other, both glowing with a light that shone brighter then any sun, yet at the same time in a way that was made it appear gentle. A glowing feather floated past him and Takato looked over his shoulder to find one of the ten wings that he had whenever this form made its appearance.

_"It's our Crimson Mode…"_ Takato whispered to himself, and soon awe transformed into a look of purpose as he returned his gaze to the shadows. Guilmon's hyper acute senses were already telling him that danger was there, and that it needed to be challenged and defeated. As he looked, the darkness swelled up, taking on a form that was disturbingly similar to the Cable D-Reaper that had emerged from the digital world during their last battle with the entity all those months ago.

Gathering himself, Gallantmon Crimson Mode took to the air with an easy grace that would make one think that he was in no hurry, as though all the weight of the world was not on his shoulders. The light from his wings and weapons intensified until they became as fire on his body. The shadow creature turned towards him and opened a huge, gaping maw as he approached it. Undaunted, Gallantmon flew towards it, his pace quickening as his body grew even brighter until it obscured the red and gold armor that was his namesake.

A second later, with a cry of _Final Justice _echoing upon the wind like a god's last judgment, a blinding explosion blanketed the shadow creature, its light spreading throughout the city, engulfing all of its shadows within its purity before finally dying back, revealing the last rays of the setting sun as evening fell and the first stars appeared.

The rest was silence.

* * *

18 


	31. Promise to a Friend

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digital Manifest

Keepers

Chapter: 30/ Promise to a Friend

Ryan didn't know where he was exactly, though that fact on its own didn't surprise him anymore. It seemed that these days he was always getting into situations that landed him in a place where he had no idea where he was, and even when he did he was still lost. What he did know, as of this moment, was that he was standing in front of a lake…or perhaps it was a pond. It was so hard to tell at this time of night, with a half moon reflecting off the surface of what was decidedly a body of water. There just wasn't enough light to give him an impression as to how far it extended and how deep. That, and there seemed to be something wrong with his right eye.

Ryan winced as he felt pain pulse in his right socket. He blinked his eye repeatedly and rubbed at it (and was relieved to find that nothing was missing from the socket in any way, shape, or form), but a deep blackness obscured half of his vision, and the world around him appeared to be flat and with little dimension to it. Whenever he moved his face, his vision would be accompanied by a dizzying like motion as the remainder of his sight tried to track everything that he saw.

_Depth perceptions off,_ commiserated Ryan as he looked down at the water's surface. There was just enough light coming from the moon for him to get some view of his face. He wasn't all that surprised when he noted that half of it; the right half (or his left as it appeared in his mirrored reflection) was obscured by shadow.

_Where's Richoemon?_ Wondered Ryan as he broke his gaze away from his decidedly ruined face and looked around, worry building in his heart for the tiger-striped dino that had been his friend and partner for so long. Something had happened to him, that much he knew for certain, but…for some reason he couldn't quite recall what it was. It was as if his memory had been clawed out along with his vision…

_Oh man…I hope that he's not in too much trouble. Sure, he can digivolve and handle himself better then I can, but the guy freaks out whenever a little girl tries to put him in a frilly pink dress, and he's always tripping over himself…_

As Ryan turned his head around to his left he thought that he heard something moving softly in his direction. Glancing to his right once again, his breath caught in his throat as he saw a rather large, gray furred wolf draw up next to him.

"Nice wolfie…" Ryan whispered as his throat began to lock up and his muscles tensed. So far the creature wasn't making any threatening movements towards him but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Although, he was curious as to why it didn't just creep up on him and jump at him if its intention was harm instead of standing next to him like a companion.

_Maybe it's a digimon…_

"I am _not_ a digimon," the wolf growled, making the boy jump slightly in surprise. The wolf chuckled at Ryan's reaction.

"Um…okay…you can talk."

"Yeah. So?"

Ryan scratched the back of his head nervously.

"It's just…uh…been my impression that only digimon were capable of speaking like humans…um…Mr. Wolf…ah…sir…"

The wolf chuckled lightly once again.

"The name's Geri, _Keeper,_" said the wolf. "As for the whole _speaking like humans_, there are more things in the world then just animals, humans, and digimon. In a way, my people gave birth to the digimon, but we have always remained separate…until recently that is…"

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"I don't understand. I thought Janyu and the Monster Makers made digimon…them and…ah…the digignomes."

"Yes. But what _influenced_ the digimon to become what they are today? You're friend _Chris_ mentioned a connection between the digimon_ Kuzuhamon_ and the kitsune _Kuzunoha_. Maybe you should ask him why at some point. But I'm not here to give you a history or a mythological lesson. I was told that you'd be here…"

"And it was _my _job to greet him," called out an irritated, female voice from behind the two. Turning, Ryan blinked his eyes as what was left of his vision fell upon a beautiful young girl around his age with short, golden hair that went just past her shoulders like a blanket. She was looking a tad bit angry at the wolf that stood next to Ryan.

"Last I checked, he wasn't slain, Thrud. And you Valkeryies are only disir anyway. Too minor in standing…"

"And I suppose _you_ are better? You and your brother are just Odin's _pets_ who live off the scraps that he tosses you! And I don't care if he is dead or not! I was chosen to greet him, not you! Now scat!"

"Fine, fine…" grumbled the wolf as he began to slink away. Briefly he paused and looked behind him at Ryan. "Be careful that she doesn't up and decide to keep you…"

"Hey! What did I just tell you! Scat! Go on, get out of here! The master won't be happy with you if I'm suddenly made to tell him why this Keeper stuck around here for too long…"

"All right! All right! Sheesh!"

Ryan just watched, feeling more then a little bit weirded out by the scene. Unconsciously he reached behind him, feeling for his digivice. It wasn't there. Finally the girl turned to him, huffing in annoyance at the wolf as he slunk away from them.

"Anyway," the girl (_Valkyrie?_ Ryan thought, wondering just what it was that he had gotten himself into) who had been named _Thrud_ began. "Welcome to Mimir's Spring."

Ryan cocked an eyebrow.

"Who-sa-whatsis?"

The girl rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"If only your blonde haired friend were here…look. Just call it what it is and leave it at that, okay? I'm not supposed to keep you here long…"

"Hold on! Why am I even here to begin with? And just where exactly _is_ here anyway?"

"There's not really a whole lot that I'm allowed to tell you. The assembled gods of the old world wouldn't be too happy about it if I did, and they _aren't_ doing this just because they feel generous! You have something of there's that they can't get to at the moment, and I'm sure you know what it is that I'm talking about given how much trouble it's been causing you since you got it…"

Understanding finally dawned in Ryan's mind.

"My digivice…"

"Mjolner, actually but as it is now it's practically the same thing. Looks like you're not as thick as I thought you were…"

"Why's it so important?"

"When will you just shut up and stop asking meaningless questions?"

"They're _not_ meaningless! I'm talking about my life that was uprooted and tossed into another dimension where me and Chris were harassed and…!"

_"We_ are not responsible for that. That's just how things worked out unless the Norns said otherwise. But you're drifting the subject away from what you were brought here for. You're a Keeper of one of the Mjolner fragments, and right now it's beyond the reach of my master who created it! He's…_busy_ right now, dealing with forces that seek to take it and use it for their own purposes. It's why the Mjolner algorithm was fragmented in the first place. At any rate, since you're a Keeper of one of those fragments, it has been decided that some aid must be lent to you and your friends until such a time is found when it can be retrieved _safely_!"

Ryan groaned and rubbed his temples. "Great…more mysterious groups and entities that are after us…more fighting…"

The girl crossed her arms across her chest and glowered at him.

"Things will only become violent between us if you resist. But that's not the present. As I said, some aid will be rendered to you so that you can continue to protect the Mjolner's until my master can retrieve them. As of this moment, you and your partner are injured, and lack the capabilities and the knowledge to be able to confront your opponents successfully and survive. You've been lucky so far, but at the rate you're going, you likely won't survive the next encounter…"

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the blonde haired girl.

"Why should I trust you or anything that you say?"

The girl glared at him in return.

"Whether you trust me or not is your decision. I'm just a message bearer. To be honest, I'm not to thrilled about it either, and I _know_ none of my superiors are. They don't like the idea of giving you power to defend yourself against others like them even if it's to keep the Mjolners out of their enemy's hands."

_Why am I sensing a lot of pent up hostility?_

"Because," said Thrud, answering his unspoken question. "You and your people turned your backs on us a long time ago. How would _you_ feel about things after that?"

"I'm just too in the dark about all of this," grumbled Ryan.

"Tough. You want answers? Talk to Raven when she catches up with you. She'll have them. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to move on to the real reason why I'm here…"

Before Ryan could say anything in response to that, a soft light appeared at the bottom of the spring that he and Thrud stood next to. It was spherical in nature and it rose from the water, floating over to Ryan before stopping in front of him. Ryan stepped back reflexively, only to be stopped by Thrud's strong grip as she grabbed hold of his arm and fixed him with a fierce look before turning to the glowing sphere before them.

"The eye of Odin once rested at the bottom of the Well of Mimir as a symbol of his sacrifice for wisdom of the ages," Thrud intoned in a soft voice that surprised Ryan given her earlier attitude. "It shall rest there no more…"

As she said those words, the orb suddenly burst with bright light, and Ryan's view of the world was swiftly replaced with another…

* * *

White ceiling tiles stared down at Ryan and he blinked his eyes against the light that flooded his vision. Well, what there was of it anyway. Half of it was obscured by what looked like a bandage covering his right eye, though why that was he had no idea. Carefully, Ryan glanced around at his environment, groaning slightly as he realized where he was.

_Next time I see Chris, I'm going to ask him if we can't trade places or something. Seriously, this ending up in the hospital thing is starting to get a little old…_

"Hey, Henry! Look who's _finally _up! How're ya doin' Ryan?"

"Hn?" Turning in the direction of the familiar voice that had hailed him, Ryan's visible, green eye settled upon the familiar forms of Terriermon and Henry, lying in a bed directly adjacent to his own.

"Hey Ryan," said the half-Chinese boy with a small, but worried smile on his face as Terriermon sat on his shoulder and giggled. Next to his bed was a table with a bouquet of flowers and a couple _Get well soon _cards.

"Henry?"

"That's me."

"You've got casts on your arms…"

Henry nodded, laughing lightly at Ryan's rather blunt observation. He wondered if the painkillers were the cause of that.

"Yeah. I have the fight from two days ago to thank for that. I'm lucky that my wrists were only burned and fractured instead of broken like I thought that they were. The…fight was pretty brutal. I'm glad that Takato was able to finish it without too much trouble."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. _Two days ago?_

"I'll say!" Exclaimed Terriermon as he hopped up onto Henry's head. "That Crimson Mode of his kicks booty! Who would have thought that someone like him would have been able to pull it off? Guy can't even walk a block without embarrassing himself in public…"

"Come on now, be a nice _stuffed animal_," chided Henry in what sounded like a forced tone as he shook his head, disrupting Terriermon's balance and knocking him off.

"Hey!"

"So…" began Ryan, ignoring Terriermon's irritated musings about how he never gets any respect. "The fight was…two days ago?"

Henry nodded, his expression changing now.

"Yeah. Night before last to be more exact. You've been out for quite a while…"

"That's starting to get to be a habit with him, isn't it?" Chided Terriermon as he attempted to clamber back onto Henry's shoulders with his long ears.

"Terriermon…"

"What? Momentai already would ya? Sheesh! You're so tense…"

"Well I have reason to be…and _you_ were more then a little bit tense yourself after what we found out about yesterday…"

"Okay, point. But I still hold to my statement about it applying to you."

"Mnnnggg…Terriermon…"

Ryan grumbled as he tried to get into a sitting position, something that was made difficult by the fact that the blankets were holding him down more tightly then they should have been able to. In fact, it was more like something was holding _them_ down…

Ryan craned his head a little more then usual to get a clear picture of what it was, and a small smile graced his face when he saw it.

_Guess that explains where Richoemon was,_ thought Ryan as he patted the little dinosaur fondly on the head. Richoemon responded by snuggling closer to the boy that was his partner and mouthing something incoherent. Ryan sighed as he brought his hands up to the bandage that covered his face. His fingers prodded at it tentatively, wondering why it was there in the first place. Did something happen to him? He couldn't quite remember for some reason. His mind felt like something had punched a few more holes in it…

"So…what _exactly_ happened? I seem to be drawing a blank after Rika and Renamon biomerged into Kuzuhamon…"

Henry's face fell when Ryan mentioned Rika and Renamon's names.

"That's…_complicated_…"

"Always seems to be," muttered Ryan as he began to pull the bandage off his head, no longer caring why it was there. All of a sudden he just wanted it _off!_

"Ryan?" Asked Henry as he saw the other boy's movements. "I don't think that you should remove the…"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Asked Ryan as he finished taking the bandage off and looked over at Henry, his mind rejoicing at the feel of cool air as it touched the once covered skin of his face and in the completed, no longer flat vision that sprung to life around him. Ryan frowned at Henry and Terriermon, wondering why they were looking at him so strangely. "Everything all right?"

"Ryan," began Henry, swallowing slightly as he fixed his gaze on the boy. "Your right eye…"

"Yeah…what about it?" Ryan's frown grew deeper. What was with Henry? It looked like he was seeing a ghost or something, though why it involved his eye he couldn't guess. It felt fine to him and he could see out of it…

"…It's blue," Henry finished finally. "The iris is blue…"

Ryan cocked his head to one side in confusion.

_Say what?

* * *

_

Leomon sat on the rooftop of the building, waiting patiently for Jeri to return with the others from the task that they had set for themselves, frowning at horizon. Something felt…_off_, but then there was plenty of reason for that he supposed. Memories bubbled up to the surface of his mind from the battle from two nights ago. Memories that he'd sooner wish that he didn't have.

What they brought to mind frankly, was far too disturbing to him, and he wondered how they would affect Jeri if and when she was made aware of the full extent that he had been. Not that what he now knew was much mind you, but he had caught a glimpse of the truth that had been dodging him these past few days and had been making him aware of things that previously he had no knowledge of. Looking down at his right hand, Leomon's blue eyes narrowed as he saw a golden swirl of energy trace its way up his palm and to his wrist where it disappeared. How long had that been going on he wondered? Long enough he supposed, and certainly long enough for him to know that he could no longer call himself a digimon by any normal standards. He…he no longer knew what he was…

Yes. Leomon remembered his most recent transformation, and what was more he now remembered the last time he had changed and the events that had preceded it.

_Beelzemon…_

"So…dis is where you've been hiding yourself…" spoke up a voice that Leomon was all too familiar with. Briefly Leomon wondered if _thinking_ his name was enough to summon him from wherever it was that he dwelt when he wasn't around the other Tamers.

"What do you want?" Growled Leomon as he turned to face the biker Demon Lord as he flapped his bird-like wings and came to a landing behind him.

"To talk," Beelzemon stated simply, his emerald eyes not leaving Leomon's azure ones. Leomon got to his feet and crossed his arms over his powerful chest. He had expected this moment to come frankly, and he wondered just how much Beelzemon remembered about their _encounter_, if at all. His own memories of it were still fogged, but he suspected that he had tampered with the ex-Demon Lord's memory in some fashion,

just as his had been for whatever reason it was that had placed him back in existence.

"Then talk."

"Dat was some _digivolving_ dat you did two nights ago," said Beelzemon after a couple seconds of silence. "Or was it _digivolving?"_

"What else could it have been?"

"You tell me, bub," grated Beelzemon as he stepped towards the lion warrior. "Now I may not be da sharpest tool in da shed, I've messed t'ings up enough times to know dat much, but I _do_ know what my senses tell me, and from what I saw last night what you did was definitely _not_ digivolving. Care to shed any light on it?"

Leomon glowered as he met Beelzemon's gaze, his expression becoming stone hard and angry.

"If I knew what precisely it was that had happened, do you think that I would keep it from you?"

"Maybe. Maybe you would," said Beelzemon as he came to a stop in front of Leomon. "After all, we don't know precisely what it was that happened to you now do we? From what I recall when we all hooked up again after the fight the others assumed that you had digivolved. Me? I was there when you changed. I know better."

Beelzemon looked Leomon over for a moment before continuing.

"You look like him. You act like him. But…_are_ you him? I distinctly remember destroying you and loading your data. You've never truly left us in all da time dat you've been gone, whether it's been lending me your power or giving Jeri da encouragement dat she needed to move on. A part of me still feels Leomon in me and yet…here you are now. You shouldn't be here, but you are. Da fact that you can change into somet'ing else…somet'ing dat acts like a completely separate being doesn't give me any comfort either. I don't know _what_ you are or how you came to be, and a part of me t'inks dat you're a danger to all of us just by existing, and dat taking you out would be da safest t'ing to do…_but_…dere's anot'er part of me dat would like to believe otherwise. I remember our first meeting since you returned…don't look so surprised. I'm _Beelzemon!_ How long did you t'ink dat memory erasure trick was going to las wit' someone like met?!"

Beelzemon glared at Leomon, gauging his reaction as the lion warrior settled down from surprise to unreadable before continuing. "You…or whatever dat t'ing was dat you became…told me dat you were looking out for dose two kids Ryan and Chris. So far you've lived up to dat, though I'm not to sure what good you did by nearly letting Ryan die in dat one fight…"

"It was done to give him back his confidence," growled Leomon as the knowledge of that part of the battle bloomed in his mind like a flower to the morning sun.

"Yeah," spat Beelzemon disdainfully. "I remember. But like I was saying, you haven't proven yourself false so far, and just on da slim chance dat you really _are_ Leomon…though how _dat_ could be I don't know…I'm not going to try deleting you…for Jeri's sake. I've already hurt her enough as it is. _But_, we are going to have a sit down wit' da others about what you are. You may have helped us so far, for whatever reasons dat you might have, but _none_ of us are going to keep going forward into dis one hundred percent blind. Our survival depends on it."

Leomon watched Beelzemon for a moment before speaking.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why…this? You consider me a danger, and I am an unknown to you and the others now. I hardly even know what I am myself anymore, and with this…_being_ in me…an entity of power that I have no control over, you are right to consider me a danger. So…why?"

Beelzemon was silent for a moment as his eyes locked with Leomon's.

"Because…as I said. I don't want to hurt Jeri again. And maybe…just _maybe_…you have a way to bring Leomon back the way dat he used to be. You're other self claimed that you…and he…were the real Leomon. So on da off chance dat you are, and dat we may need you for what's coming our way, I won't harm you. But if I catch so much as a whiff of betrayal from you... If you hurt Jeri because of whatever it is dat your mission is, there won't be any force on earth or da digital world dat will stop me from hunting you down."

Leomon nodded, feeling an odd amount of respect for his former opponent.

"I understand."

"Consider dis a test, _Leomon,_ of where your loyalties lie."

"You've changed Beelzemon," said Leomon. "There was once a time that you would have destroyed me without a second thought."

Beelzemon's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, I have _you_ to t'ank for dat don't I?"

With that, Beelzemon took to the air once more, flapping his black wings as he flew off, leaving Leomon alone with his thoughts. Leomon watched the Demon Lord go for a moment before turning back to his original view of the city, thinking on the last time that he had spoken to Jeri. She had been strangely quiet towards him since the fight ended, though it could be said that with Rika and Renamon's disappearance and their dealings with Yamaki and Hypnos afterwards (as they had to be brought up to speed on what happened) as well as talking to Rika's family and informing them about what happened…well, to be brief, they hadn't had a whole lot of time to talk, especially after they found out that Ryo Akiyama had also disappeared without a trace on that fateful night. Takato certainly hadn't had much time to anyone himself since then and had become somewhat closed mouthed towards everyone. A fact that Leomon found…_disturbing._

Leomon frowned as he looked out over the fair city of Shinjuku, wondering what the future had in store for them all…

* * *

"Ahuramon's shadow…Ahuramon…shadow…hmmm…" Chris flipped through the pages of one of the few English language books on mythology that he could find at the Shinjuku public library, while across from him Jeri flipped through a Japanese addition from a stack that was significantly larger then his own, jotting down notes as she did so. Chris frowned as he glared at the rather limited information that he had in front of him, somewhat irritated by the extreme lack of knowledge that he had about Japanese Kanji. After the events of the battle with Kuzuhamon and the bizarre dark entity Chris's mind had gone into overdrive. Most of it had occurred as a way to keep his mind busy in light of the mysterious disappearances of Ryo Akiyama and Rika Nonaka…

_(The bridge has disappeared…no; it's just gone home,_ thought Chris once, not knowing at all where it had come from)

…As well as what happened to Ryan. _Especially _Ryan, as he was closer to him then he was with any of the Tamers. Last night had been freaky for him. Ryan had his eyes closed, having taken to Chris's advice to try and explore the capabilities of their digivices in an attempt to help Gallantmon defeat Kuzuhamon and free Rika and Renamon from her control. It seemed to be working too…that is, until Ryan's body flared with a green aura and suddenly cried out in pain, collapsing on the ground and becoming unconscious moments later. From what he had heard afterwards when Ryan had been taken to the hospital, the sight in his right eye had been destroyed. There were no outward, physical signs that anything was wrong, with the exception that the pupil no longer reacted to light, but a closer examination showed severe damage to the retinas and optic nerves, more specifically to the photosensitive rods and cones that dwelt within. In short, they were no longer receiving light information from the world that it looked out on.

Richoemon, despite having reported being the one who had actually received eye damage, was fine.

Chris glowered as he flipped through yet another page, trying to get his mind to focus back on the here and now, and the reason why he was going over these books.

_I don't even know what I'm looking for,_ thought Chris as he lowered one hand into his lap and stroked the soft scales of Caramon as he slept, having passed out from _complete and utter boredom_ that was the silence of the library. _None of this really has anything to do with what happened…does it? Maybe…Henry once told me that digimon were sometimes derived from mythological figures, and after what had happened with Rika and Renamon when they became Kuzuhamon…not to mention that my digivice displayed Kuzunoha's image and name after it shocked Rika…I guess that I thought that I'd find something here. _

Chris's hand drifted from his partner and over to his red trimmed digivice, where it rested for a moment.

_Things sure became a whole lot more complicated then I ever thought that it would be. Before Ryan and I were just trying to get home…now it looks like we're at the center of some interdimensional plot to take over the universe or something. Rika's gone, Ryo's vanished, Ryan's injured…again… Hmmm…that's three R's. I wonder if that means anything…_

Chris flipped to another page, knowing that last part was more a product of his over imaginative mind. Whenever he got too worked up he tended to grasp at whatever straws that he noticed floating around in the hopes that it would offer some kind of answer to his troubles.

_Maybe that's why I'm here…looking over these old stories. They don't seem to have anything to do with what's going on. _

Glancing up at Jeri, Chris wondered what her reason for being here was. She hadn't been all that specific other then the fact that he would need someone to translate Japanese for him since Kazu and Kenta were off combing the streets for any sign of Ryo and Takato was busy being grilled by Yamaki about the battle. It seemed rather odd. He had expected that she would be with Takato to comfort him or comfort Rika's family, but for some reason she was here. He wondered what her reasons were for a moment before deciding that perhaps he was looking too much into things.

Chris took a moment to note that Jeri was jotting down some information from one of the books that she had found, one finger resting on the image of a winged lion that the blonde haired boy recognized all too well from a mythological book that he had seen prior to his jaunt into the digital world. The creature, from what he remembered, was called a _Lammasu_, a Mesopotamian type of spiritual guardian. Shrugging his shoulders as to why she would find something like that interesting, Chris went back to his book. His eyebrows went up slightly as he took notice of something in the text.

_Now that's interesting…this entry is titled __**Ahuraman**__, a Persian deity of darkness. Huh… Ahura__**man**__… Ahura__**mon**__…I wonder if there's a connection…_

Chris began to read the article closely.

* * *

Takato walked through the halls of Hypnos, his hands shoved in his pockets as he deftly avoided an employee while Guilmon trailed behind him, taking just as much care so as to not cause a commotion and interrupt Takato's thoughts. They had just come from a meeting with Yamaki and had finished filing his report about Shinjuku's most recent _invasion_. There likely would be a public outcry due to the amount of damage that had been caused, but fortunately no one had been able to see just what it was that had happened until the very end, a strange occurrence since they had all made enough ruckus to wake the dead, but Takato didn't think too much of it right now. At this moment Takato's mind was focused solely on the thought of the red haired friend that had vanished.

"_Takato…I know that you're not going to like this, but…I'm going to have to go away for a while. Something's happening right now. You already know that of course…"_

The thought whispered in his mind, but he couldn't tell where it had come from. It was as if something, some memory was just beyond his reach. He focused on it, trying to get a clearer understanding of what it was and why it, and other similar sensations had been plaguing him since the battle so often of late. He felt that it would give him a clue as to where Rika and Renamon had gone. Alas, the feeling as well as the thought slipped out of his grasp almost as quickly as he focused on it, and he was left empty handed again.

Takato paused as he passed by an open window, his eyes sliding over towards the glowing ball of fire that hung in the sky above Shinjuku, offering a message of hope, light, and life to all who dwelt beneath its warming rays. Somehow, it hurt looking at it in ways that went beyond just the fact that it was bad for his eyes.

"_I've got to go soon, so when you see the others…and my family, give them my regards. Tell Jeri that I'm sorry about her party. I wish things could have turned out differently. I…" _

_Rika paused and furrowed her brow as she brought up her other hand and cupped Takato's other cheek with it, causing the boy to gasp lightly at her touch. Her expression was such that she looked as though she were debating something. Unconsciously Takato brought up his own hands and clasped Rika's hands into them. He felt a strange, yet comforting warmth spread through him as he did so._

"_Just… take care of yourself Takato. Until next time…" With that, Rika leaned forward and her warm lips joined his own. A surge of energy suddenly seemed to explode within the boy's chest at the connection and the light that surrounded them increased in intensity, drowning the world in a mixture of blue, white, red, and orange…_

Takato gasped as tears stung his eyes and he clenched his hand into a fist, feeling as though he had failed his friends in some way. Next to him Guilmon bumped up against him, offering him some measure of comfort to his friend, his own golden eyes tearing up as well as he shared Takato's pain in his heart.

"Don't worry Takato," Guilmon said in a gentle, but still childish tone. "We'll find them.

Takato remembered Rika's family's reaction to his telling them about her disappearance. Saying that they _upset_ wasn't quite strong enough to describe how they had reacted. Rumiko certainly took it hard, and Tom was now doing his best to comfort her. Seiko, surprisingly had taken it the best out of them all though it was clear that she was just as upset and worried about her granddaughter as Rumiko was. But regardless of what she was feeling, she had kept her calm outlook as best as she could, and had had a long talk with Takato about the events that had transpired…that is, what he could remember of them.

Takato's expression hardened as he looked out the window and patted the side of Guilmon's head, holding him close as he thought of the promise that he had made Seiko and her mother when he had seen them the night that she had vanished.

"Yeah boy," Takato said throatily as he blinked back his tears. Now was not the time for that sort of thing. He had to be strong if he was going to do what he needed to find Rika, Renamon, and Ryo. "I know. We'll find them."

_Real world or digital world,_ thought Takato as he reaffirmed the promise he had made to the Nonaka family. _Wherever you are, whatever trouble you're in…I'll find you…I promise._

To be continued…

* * *

A/N: That's it for the first part of the Digital Manifest storyline. It might take some time before I get going on the second part, as I need to plan it out before I can begin it. Possible ideas presently include season 02 involvement, the return of Raven and Will (who had debuted from a previous installment, _Tales of the Digital Manifest_), maybe Dai (again, see _Tales of the Digital Manifest)_, the issues and resolution of Leomon's mystery and the effects that Ryan's _'eye'_ will have on how he participates in the story. A lot of things to consider here and I want it to be just right before beginning again.

I'd like to thank the following reviewers for reading and reviewing my story.

**Zakuyoe, dbzgtfan2004, Kuroy, Frozen Twins, Trinity Dragon, Plywood Fiend, Spellcaster Hikaru, Pandemonium Theory, Yami Umi, ofdarknesschaos, Keyo-Red Angel of Hope, Black, Dag 417, Nolaquen265, Pyro the Harbinger of Chaos, n/a, Blazing Chaos, DJ Diddy Dog KIVA FORM**

'Till next time then. Later.

-Crazyeight

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